Tabuu's Revenge (REFERENCE)
by Robopup24
Summary: Six months after our brave group of heroes have defeated Tabuu, life is rather...calm. But when an unexpected event happens that marks Tabuu's return, they must defeat him once more and fight unexpected enemies: their own friends and loved ones. CURRENTLY BEING REBOOTED.
1. Prologue::

**.:Prologue:.**

Subspace.

It couldn't, _shouldn't_, exist anymore. Yet it was there…he was here. And unbelievably, Tabuu was right in front of his eyes.

Every fiber of his being screamed denial. But the bonds were all too real, as was the shimmering creature before him.

"I have a favor to ask of you, old friend." Tabuu tilted his head as a curious child would, but his cold stare told otherwise.

"You waste your time." He promptly replied. Tabuu's face remained emotionless.

"So you say. I am certain that my offer will interest you greatly…" The ethereal being paused, letting the silence speak for itself. The prisoner struggled harder against the energy bonds that held him down. "I know you will not be able to resist it."

"I will never work with you!" He snapped. "Whatever you promise me will not turn me against my fri-"

"Friends?" Tabuu leaned closer and the prisoner felt a chill run down his spine. "You have no _friends_. They merely use you for their own gains."

Despite his fear, he managed a small smirk. "I know what you are trying to do, Tabuu. You might as well give up on recruiting me."

Deafening silence.

Suddenly, Tabuu's hand slammed through his body, gripping his soul. He fought back a pained cry as an almost unbearable agony flooded through him. For a brief moment, they locked eyes. "Idiot."

That was the last word he heard as he jerked into unconsciousness, freed into the blissful, black void.


	2. Chapter One

**.:Chapter One:.**

A battered looking journal lay on the road's side, obscured by the foliage. It was open to a yellowed page, neatly printed by some careful hand...

'_Entry 50:  
As I passed the border to Eagleland, the Pikmin who have been following me began to act strangely. The Pikmin preyed upon each other with a killer intent. An attempt to re-organize them succeeded, but a few tried to attack me as I did so. I have scanned the area for any strange elements that might have triggered this behavior, but I have come empty-handed..._'

There is more written, but it is smuged by a huge ink stain. Whatever had been written there was lost forever. Just a little further back was a weak fire. It seemed to have been a camp for someone. No living soul was in sight...

* * *

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

The lump under the covers simply turned over. Red poked his head into the small tent, saw that his friend was still asleep, and good-naturedly groaned. "Lucas! C'mon, get up!" The Pokemon Trainer waited a few more seconds. "We'll never get to Onett in time if you sleep the whole morning away!"

"Mmfph," Came the reply.

Red rolled his eyes. "All right kiddo, you asked for it. Ivysaur!"

"Ivy Ivysaur?" The Seed Pokemon obediantly lumbered toward his trainer, water dripping from his body. He had gotten into a tiny fight with Squirtle over breakfast. Shaking the rest of the droplets off, Ivysaur gave a small grumble. The tent was much too confined for his liking.

"Ivysaur, use Vine Whip!"

"Ivy!"

The vines shot out and attacked. "Wha-!" Lucas leaped from his sleeping bag, laughing helplessly as Ivysaur tickled him. "S-stop! I'm...awake!" He barely managed to speak through his laughter.

Red nodded and signaled Ivysaur to stop. The Pokemon withdrew his vines and leaped out of the cramped space, intent on getting his revenge on Squirtle for stealing his meal.

The boy was still trying to regain his breath, his blonde hair sticking up randomly in his usual bed hair. 

"Wh-what time is it?"

"Way late, kiddo." Red playfully tossed a pillow at Lucas. "C'mon, get ready. We're almost at Onett! Don't you wanna see Ness?"

The pillow was thrown back at Red which slammed full-force into his face. He stumbled back a few steps, tripping over a stray bottle. "Sorry." Lucas sheepishly grinned as Red barely avoided falling over on his backpack. "Of course I wanna see Ness...I'll be out in a second." He shyly kicked at some socks laying on the floor.

"Hurry up then. It's still a hour walk and we're running late." The Pokemon Trainer said it in a teasing tone though. His mood was far from mad. A loud roar erupted from outside. Red inwardly groaned and hurried out of the tent. "Charizard! What the heck are you doing? Ivysaur is not a yo-yo!"

Lucas quietly laughed.

* * *

It had been six months since that battle with Tabuu. Many people called it 'epic' and called them 'heroes', but, truth to be told, neither Red nor Lucas felt like the grand champions the people proclaimed them as. They had become close friends, after the events that had happened along their adventure and maybe even gained more experience and skill, but they were happy to be simply regular kids.

Red thought over this as he shouldered the heavy bag. To be honest, he was glad that some of the 'heroes' in their group were barely missed by the recognition radar.

Beside him, Charizard gave a snort. The huge dragon had taken a huge load himself, unwilling to complain. It was obvious that the turtle-like Pokemon on his back though, was annoying the crap out of him.

"Squirtle, squir!" Squirtle smirked at Charizard as he pretended to carelessly toss a rock at his companion's head. Charizard gave a low warning growl, his eyes fixed on the annoying Pokemon. The message was clear: **You do it again, punk, and you'll wish you were never born.**

"Stop fighting, you guys." Red rolled his eyes. Maybe it was a mistake to let all three of his Pokemon out like this...

"Ivysaur, saur..." Ivysaur glared at Squirtle who made an obscure hand gesture at their trainer. **I wonder why Red puts up with you...**

"Squir, squir, turtle!" Squirtle continued to torture Charizard, ignoring Red and Charizard's warning. **...Screw you! Ahahaha! You can't tell me what to do! Oh, did I make you angry, lil' dragon? Well you can kiss my-**

"Squirtle, return!" A beam of red light struck its target and zapped Squirtle back into his ball before he could utter his obscene insult. Red sighed as the Pokeball began to vibrate violently. "No, I am not letting you out! As far as I'm concerned, you're staying in your ball until we reach Onett!" At that, the Pokeball's shaking stopped. Ivysaur and Charizard let out a long sigh of relief.

"R-Red, wait up!" Lucas scrambled over to his friend's side, clutching something to his chest. "I found something strange!"

"What, kiddo?" Red stared at the small, but thick journal Lucas practically shoved into his hands. "What is this?" He flipped through the pages, an odd feeling of déjà vu beginning to haunt him. The writing...it seemed...familiar.

"D-doesn't it look like something we've seen before?" Lucas hesitantly answered. He seemed uneasy himself.

"No...wait! Isn't this...what's his name...Olimar's? That guy with those little creatures around him?"

"I think..."

"Yeah, it was that guy!" The mystery deepened as Red opened to the last entry. "That's strange..." Red uneasily stated as he finished scanning the page.

"Wh-what's strange?" Lucas's eyes were so wide now that they could have popped out of his head.

"This looked like...he was cut off." Red jabbed a finger at the huge ink blot. "By something...or someone..."

As if to enforce this idea, a cold wind howled through the trees. Lucas nervously stepped back, suddenly wishing that he had something thicker than a t-shirt to wear. Red's Pokemon took an offensive stance, as if danger was closing in on them. Red slammed the journal with a fierce look on his face. "Oh c'mon, guys, it can't be that serious! Besides, he has those little Pikmin or whatever to protect him..."

"Watch out!"

The warning came a second too late. Before the group could react, a huge swarm of colors were mobbing them, scratching and headbutting every inch of skin they could find. Red let out a strangled yell of surprise as Lucas struggled to shake off the creatures clinging on to him.

A small man, hurried to aid them, stuttering, "Don't move!" A high whistle pierced the air but the Pikmin continued to attack. Charizard gave a fierce roar and squashed several of the attackers. Ivysaur tried to knock them away with his Vine whip. There was no use. The creatures had advantage in numbers. The man frowned, as if puzzled by the strange behavior of his Pikmin, and whistled once more.

Finally, the Pikmin paused in their assult and shook their heads, as if out of a dream. They chattered to each other in confusion as they slowly returned to the man.

"Dang it, Olimar, what is with your Pikmin?" Red winced as he pulled out a splinter a Pikmin had stabbed into his arm. Lucas gingerly peeled off a stubborn Pikmin which still clung to his face. It let out a squeal of protest and proceeded to claw at Lucas's eyes. The boy let out a frightened shout and let it go. The Pikmin gave a small snarl and hurried after its comrades.

"You should be...ow!" A pause as Olimar kicked back some of the Pikmin who were still feeling rather vicious. "On guard...there's something wrong with the World again..." Olimar batted away some of the still rebellious Pikmin who were attempting to attack him.

"There's a lot of things wrong with this world. Don't go emo on us, 'kay?"

"That's not what I mean!" The Captain lowered his voice as he continued. "Do you remember when Tabuu was...well...alive?"

Lucas's gaze was suddenly very intent on his shoes. Red slightly flinched. Lucas, despite all the bravery he had gained, was not exactly eager to remember the events that had happened during that period of time. "Yes." Lucas quietly answered.

"Do you remember the Shadow Bugs?"

"Dangit, stop beating the bush!" Red gruffly said. "Just tell us!"

Olimar looked a bit miffed at Red's outburst. "I'm not sure if I'm correct, but, my reasoning is-"

What exactly his reasoning was cut off as the Pikmin suddenly seemed to break free of an invisible barrier and leaped at their leader. Olimar hopelessly tried to bat them away, but they clung fast, screaming war cries at the top of their lungs.

Lucas jumped into action, his hand shaking as he aimed his PSI attack. "P-PK Fire!" Lucas almost singed the Captain by accident but the attack worked, but not as well as he hoped. Several of the Pikmin did fall off, but more and more were beginning to drag Olimar away.

Ivysaur and Charizard sprang into the fray, slashing and whipping at the sea of Pikmin. The tiny mob paid no heed to them as they lugged Olimar deeper into the forest with frightening speed.

A fat Purple Pikmin launched itself at Red, briefly stunning him. It gave a low hiss as it got knocked away by Ivysaur who responded with an angered cry of its own.

Only Olimar's attenae was visible now. For such small creatures, they moved at such an amazing speed. The group dashed after poor Olimar, trying their best to clear the beastly Pikmin away.

As soon as they neared the Pikmin though, an invisible force slammed them back, sending them flying into the air.

"What the-?" Red muttered in surprise. "H-hey!" Charizard roared in frustration and attempted to vent it all out on the invisible barrier, slashing recklessly. A huge crackle filled the air as he was greeted with a poweful electric shock.

"R-Red..." Lucas could not believe what he was seeing. The youth stumbled back, trying to make sense of what was in front of them. The others fell silent as a deep rumbling filled the air.

Right in front of them was a huge sphere of pulsing, dark matter...

Subspace.


	3. Chapter Two

**.:Chapter Two:.**

The seas roared its fury out as it lashed at the poor boat. The wind shrieked angrily and tore at the sails, aiming to overturn the ship and send them into the bottom of the dark abyss.

Link struggled to regain control of the ship, ignoring the sea foam stinging his eyes. Was this all a dream? It seemed so like it. A minute ago, it had been clear, sunny...perfect weather for taking a nice sail. And now...

"Link! Watch out!"

Zelda's warning almost came too late. Just in time, the green-clad hero rolled out of the way of the towering mast. Huge splinters flew into the air and the ship let out an ominous groan.

Link somehow managed to regain his balance. Thunder now rumbled through the dark cover of clouds. Lightning flashed, blinding them for that brief, crucial second.

The weak wood of the ship could take no more. It let out a dying moan as it cracked away. The ship split into two...and was sinking fast. As if taking advantage of this mishap, a huge wave reared up, threatening to engulf the wreckage and the hapless passengers.

Zelda clung to a huge piece of wood, bracing herself for the crushing pressure that would smash into them.

It was worse than she had thought. The water pulled her down and it felt as though a hand had began to slowly crush her lungs. Zelda clenched her eyes shut, her mind screaming for air...

...And then she was thrown into the open sea once more, gasping for breath. But there was something strange...it seemed like...she was floating above the waters?

"Boy, you sure got into a mess." Zelda glanced at her savior, feeling rather annoyed that she was being treated like she _needed_ to be protected. The boy holding her gave a half-shrug. "Don't look at me, lady. I'm just here to do my job."

"Thank you, Pit." Zelda dryly replied. "But I am sure that Link and I can take care of ourselves."

"...You want me to drop you?"

Zelda ignored him as a realization came to her. "Where's Link?" She scanned the raging waters, dread creeping into her voice.

"Did I miss him?" Pit frowned. "But I thought he was there a moment ago...wait! There he is!" The angel 

dived toward the dangerous waters, heedless of the churning waters and raging wind. "Hang on, lady!"

Link was bobbing in the water, his arm held out like a flag, straight and true. Pit easily yanked him out of there, but almost fell into the water from the weight. "Dang, Link. When was the last time you've worked out?" He muttered as he struggled to fly higher into the air.

The trio said nothing more as they inched upward, away from the storm. As if sensing that its attempts to drown the heroes had failed, the storm died away, returning to its peaceful, deceptive form.

* * *

"All right. Would you mind explaining to me _why_ you were sailing in that storm? What were you thinking?" Pit paced around the room, his wings folding and unfolding in the agitation he tried to hide. "If I hadn't been flying around..." He left it at that and turned to the two, his carefree manner gone. The captain of the guard could be quite serious when he needed to.

"It wasn't a freak storm when we first set sail." Link explained. He shifted a bit, trying to get more comfortable in the marble chairs they were sitting on. "It was perfect weather when that storm hit us from nowhere." Link hesitated a bit before continuing. "We were planning to visit...someone. Some friends of ours." He waited as though he expected the angel to ask who they were going to visit.

Pit gave a shrug. "Go on."

"We set sail and figured it was going to be a smooth trip..." Zelda continued where Link left off. "...And you know what happened."

An awkward silence enveloped the room. Pit twirled his bow, brooding on something. "Where were you going?"

"Onett."

At that, Pit stopped in mid-step. He almost seemed like a statue as he stood there. Link ventured to ask, "Is something wrong?"

It took a minute for the angel to regain his senses, and when he did, he had a dark look on his face. "You were heading for Onett? You should consider yourself lucky that storm hit you, then."

"Why?" Zelda leaned forward, curiosity perked.

Pit didn't answer as he resumed his pacing. The princess was not satisfied with his stony silence. "Pit. Tell us."

"Was anything strange happening in Hyrule? Anything that might have caused you to leave in the first place?"

"Pit, just give us the facts plain and straight."

The tone that Pit answered with was so grave that Link and Zelda casted worried glances at each other. "There's been some strange going ons in a lot of the places lately...Do you remember Captain Olimar? He was investigating some mysterious disturbances he said...told me that he'd be all right when I offered to help him. I haven't heard of him since." Pit glanced at the faltering sun that was reappearing in the reddening sky. "Olimar told me that he needed to check if the others were fine. The things he told me that was bothering the other lands...it sounds almost like-"

"What kind of disturbances?" Link quietly demanded, cutting Pit off.

"Strange behavior among the other people. And Olimar swears that he has seen swarms of strange, purple creatures that look like those Shadow Bugs." Shadow Bugs? But that could only mean...

"That's not possible." Zelda whispered. "We saw him die."

Pit shifted his gaze back to the pair and heavily said, "I can't believe it. But it's true. All the facts point to one thing..."

* * *

"...Tabuu is back."

"And why am I not surprised?"

"You don't care?"

"Far from that."

"...You're up to something."

"Your point is?"

The subordinate scowled at the blaster pointed at him. "...Nothing." After all, what sort of an idiot going to argue with a blaster pointed at point-blank range straight at his face?

"I thought so." The blaster flipped back to its holster and the pilot slunk out of the room. The leader returned his attention to the digital map, his tail swaying in tune to some unheard beat. He glanced back, making sure that no one was watching before logging into an encrypted server.

"Your majesty," The commander said with a mocking formality. "Everything is going as you have planned."

"Good." The 3-D projection of the cloaked figure nodded. "You know what to do next then."

"That part I understand. But my question to you is..." He gave a wolfish grin as he continued. "Do you want them to die fast or slow?"

* * *

This must be some insane dream. There was no way that the horrible sphere in front of them existed.

Red knew that all attempts to convince himself that the vast dome of Subspace in front of them was not real was extremely futile. His Pokemon stared at the evil dome, then at their trainer, then back at the dome once more.

"This can't be real." Red gingerly reached out and received a strong shock that sent him stumbling a few steps back. Lucas watched, his eyes so wide that they almost popped out of his head.

"Do you think they took O-Olimar in there?" Lucas felt a all too familiar feeling rising again.

"Ivy saur, ivy ivy saur." **I guess so.** Ivysaur squinted his eyes at the Subspace mass, trying to figure out how to get past it.

"It's like Tabuu all over again..." Red carefully pushed his way through some of the foliage and got jolted back by an even stronger shock. It sent him flying into the air and landing butt first on the sandy road, sending dust flying everywhere.

"Red! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, kiddo." The Pokemon Trainer gritted his teeth against the pain as he got up.

This was odd. Why would somebody put a barrier around here? A frightening thought crept into their minds. What if they were closed from the main path? Lucas swallowed his fear and said, "L-let's try to make it to Onett and t-tell Ness about this..."

The other three quietly agreed, but they had barely taken a step when a new voice broke in. "I don't think you'll want to go to Onett at this time."

The other three got into a defensive position, searching the thick trees for the concealed speaker while Charizard had enough of the mystery. The dragon like Pokemon let out a blood-curling roar and let loose a huge jet of flame. "Charizard! NO!"

It was instantly bounced back and struck Charizard straight in the chest. He gave a snarl of pain and he lurched forward, searching for the strange foe. "Charizard! Calm down!" Red's words had no effect on his enraged Pokemon.

Suddenly, as if he saw his enemy, Charizard charged at the trees, claws outstretched. There was a flash of blue and Charizard crashed into a huge tree instead, smashing it to the ground. Lucas jumped back just in time. The old oak landed where the boy had been seconds earlier.

"Oi! Call off your dragon! It's just me! Fox McCloud!" Fox stepped out from the bushes, his paws raised, unarmed. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but...hey!" The fox barely dodged Charizard who recklessly attacked him again. "Can't you control that thing?"

Seeing that reasoning with the great beast was besides useless at this point, Red held up Charizard's Pokeball. "Charizard! Return!" With a reluctant snarl, Charizard was zapped back into the ball.

Fox heaved a relieved sigh. "You shouldn't head to Onett right now, as I was saying." The pilot seemed somewhat more careworn, but other than that, he was the same old Fox.

"Why not?" Lucas ventured to ask.

"I could tell you, but you wouldn't believe me." Fox simply said. "But, seeing that you already saw...that." He gestured toward the pulsing mass of Subspace. "I might as well do it anyway. Onett's been swallowed up by the same Subspace matter you see there..."

The rest of Fox's words seemed to be drowned out in some deafening silence as the news crashed down on Lucas. The world began to blur into undefinable colors. "...don't know if anyone got out of there in time...Primids everywhere...Tabuu's doing..."

"Lucas? You all right, kiddo?" Lucas barely sensed Red's presence through the suffocating fog. "Lucas! Breathe!" Someone was shaking him violently, and Lucas gave a tiny gasp. The world snapped back into clear clarity. Red was staring straight into his eyes, worry etched on his face. "You gave me a scare Lucas..."

"I...Are you sure there's no one who escaped?" Lucas despairingly said.

Fox sympathetically stared at the kid before answering, "I'm not sure. There might be a few lucky ones, but other than that...I have no clue." He gave a long sigh as he stared at the horizon. "I bumped into Pit along the way. Zelda and Link was with him...it seems to be spreading everywhere."

"Tabuu really is back then." Red looked at the sphere behind them. "I hoped he was gone and done for. 

History. I guess I was wrong." Red's Ivysaur scrutinized Fox with an obvious mistrust. There was something wrong with this one...

Lucas stared at the ground, trying hard not to cry. He tried his best to blink back his tears as he looked up. "Th-Then we'll have to go save them." The boy's voice shook as he spoke. "We beat T-Tabuu once, w-we can do it again."

"Easier said than done." Fox had eased his blaster out of its holster. "We'll be regrouping with Pit and the others then at Eagleland's border. We'll take my Arwing. It'll be much faster..."

* * *

_Unknown to the group, a hunter was catching up to them. He glanced at his map, silently smirking to himself. His prey was on the move. The hunt was on..._


	4. Chapter Three

**.:Chapter Three:.**

"Slippy? Contact Falco for me and tell him he needs to get over here as soon as possible." Fox had his eyes glued on the radar. His Arwing dove lower, taking cover amongst the clouds.

"Uh...Fox? I can't locate Falco."

"What?" Where did that darn bird go now? "Are you sure, Slippy?"

"No signal from his communicator or ship." The sound of furious typing was heard. "As far as my computer is concerned, he doesn't exist anymore on the map."

That was odd. Fox knew that Falco wasn't one to simply run off from the team without letting them know, nor would he shut off all possible ways to locate him. Unless... "Get Peppy to double-check. This is important-"

The Arwing suddenly gave a lurch. The pilot glanced back and could not believe his eyes. Right behind them was another Arwing, catching up to them with unbelievable speed. "Wolf." Fox breathed. Instantly he ran a quick check of the ship's systems and almost pounded the dashboard in frustration.

The weapons were disabled. There was no direct way of fighting back.

Fox silently cursed under his breath as he skillfully attempted to outmaneuver his pursuer, tapping into the intercom. "Oi, Red? Lucas? Listen, you might want to hang on!" His grip tightened on the wheel and he barrel-rolled straight toward the trees.

* * *

Voices. Why did it sound so...unearthly? Was it a woman?

"...Excuse me? Are you all right, sir?"

He tried to answer, but his tongue was thick and clumsy in his mouth. Nothing came out.

A younger voice sounded a bit fed up as it cut off the woman's. It seemed like it belonged to a young boy's... "I don't think he can hear you, lady. He's knocked out cold." Knocked out cold? He wasn't! Wasn't he...dead? It took tremendous effort to force himself to open his eyes, just a small crack. The light was almost too bright for him to bear, but he kept his eyes open. The people surrounding him were barely discernible, their faces all a colored blur. He found a strong temptation to sink back to the darkness in his mind that he had been taken from.

"No...he's coming to, Pit." Another voice. This one sounded like a man. Something brushed across his 

face, something refreshingly wet. "He seems familiar."

He made another attempt to speak. "My name...Falco..." Was that his name? The words came awkwardly, as though he had forgotten how to talk. He wanted to thank them for saving him, but his tired brain refused. His vision was adjusting to the harsh light now, and he could see his saviors now. He gave a wan smile as he fought to stay awake. "Thank...you..."

A brief silence.

"Zelda, I don't think there's any need to do that." The boy's voice was almost impatient now. "He'll recover in an hour or so."

"We can't carry him around with us while we travel during that time." The woman quietly answered. "Every minute we waste allows Tabuu to grow stronger. We need allies."

"Fine. If you want to heal him, go right ahead." He could hear the word that the boy muttered under his breath with a mild disdain. "Hypocrite."

What was happening now? He didn't care anymore...he was too tired...his slowly closed his eyes, just as a huge rush of magic burst through his veins.

_The world suddenly became a rapidly turning kaleidoscope of colors. He felt a hand clutch his wing in surprise. His head throbbed with a pain. He let out a groan and his legs gave way. He collapsed onto the ground (were they even on land?) and he felt something searching for the two of them. His mind screamed that danger was everywhere, that they should escape as quickly as they could to safe harbor but how could you escape an enemy you couldn't even see there wasn't any way and the pain kept mounting and a scream resounded through the air (was it his?) but the pain wouldn't stop it just kept growing and growing until he wanted to die..._

And then the vision was suddenly gone. He dizzily looked around him as though it was his first time seeing his surroundings. Kneeling next to him was a beautiful princess, her pale face almost glowing in the sunlight. "What...you..." The memories came rushing back. He remembered. His past, his name...all that came back to him in a flash. He was himself again.

Zelda suddenly swayed and almost crumpled to the ground.

"Zelda!" Link. Wasn't that Link? He was beside Zelda, steadying her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Zelda gently pushed Link's hand away. "I am just a little tired." She held herself up with a sort of royal gracefulness that he quite admired. "Do you think you can stand, Falco?"

"Stand?" The angel, Pit, had joined into the conversation now. "The question is, can he fly with all that gear strapped to him?" He sharply glared at Pit, only to find that he was kidding.

"I can walk." He coolly answered. Falco uneasily stood up, and for a moment, a dizzy wave of nausea overcame him.

Link noticed and quietly said, "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine." He was annoyed to find that his voice sounded hoarse. Curse it. "What are you all doing here?"

"We were waiting for Fox McCloud...isn't he your friend? He hasn't come yet...we're giving him another minute or two before we go looking for him." Pit curiously studied the humanoid bird. "What happened to you?"

What had happened? "My ship crashed." Falco flatly answered. "I don't remember anything else beyond that. The vision still poisoned some corner in his mind, tugging at him. Damn it. He eased his blaster out and said, "Fox wouldn't be late for a good reason. Chances are, he's in trouble." He paused, glancing at his wrist. His communicator was not there. Odd. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

A crash resounded through the forest, sending a multitude of birds flying into the air...

* * *

The heavy smoke stung Lucas's eyes and lungs as he hurried to escape the wrecked ship, barely making it out onto the grass with Red trailing after him. Fox was already out, his blaster cocked and ready. "Hide." Fox's urgently ordered them in a loud whisper.

They needed no further urging. Red and Lucas hid behind the thick bushes, watching the scene with apprehension. Red, trying to comfort himself and Lucas, put a comforting arm around the younger boy. "It's going to be all right, kiddo. We'll pull through."

"I-I'm worried about Ness and the o-others..." Lucas's voice was so quiet that the Pokemon Trainer could barely hear him. He clutched to his friend's arm, as if seeking comfort from a horrible nightmare.

Fox suddenly was crouched next to them, blaster cocked. "Quiet. There's someone out there. Be ready to fight any moment now-"

As if to emphasize Fox's words, a laser barely grazed them, hitting the tree behind them with a huge bang. "I know you're out there, Fox." A grating voice called. "Come out and fight me like the hero they claim you are."

The pilot calmly peered through the bushes, analyzing his enemy carefully. "We'll have to take care of them together. Be ready to fight on my signal."

Red slowly reached for his Pokeballs. Lucas's grip slowly loosened as he readied himself. Fox's eyes narrowed. Footsteps approached, slow, easy footsteps like a cat would take when approaching its cornered prey.

"Now!" Fox barked. The scene plunged into chaos as the fighting began. Lasers flew in from every side and strange, one-eyed creatures, the Primids, began to run rampant from war lust as they wildly swung their weapons.

"Charizard! Go!" The huge Pokemon immediately let loose a huge stream of flame at the attackers, sending many unfortunate Primids who happened to be standing in front of him to their death.

Even Lucas had jumped in, nailing at the weakest ranks with his telekinesis attacks. Fox somehow managed to fight his way through the tumult and fired at the prominent commander of the attack party.

His shot was deflected by a strong shield. Fox ducked behind a Primid, using the creature as a shield before dashing at his enemy. The commander gave a snarl and slashed at Fox.

Fox swiftly evaded the attack and let loose a barrage of kicks at the humanoid wolf. The enemy met each kick with his own, rolling out of the way to fire his blaster at Fox.

Fox's Reflector almost came up too late. The laser bounced harmlessly off and Fox dashed forward once more...

* * *

"Do you see that, Popo?"

"Yes. What do you think that is, Nana?"

"I don't know, but it's spreading fast."

"...It scares me, Popo."

A gloved hand squeezed the latter's. "Me too, Nana, but we need to go in that direction. We have to find him."

The two stared at the strange sphere in the horizon before one of them spoke again. "Let's go then, Popo. I don't think I can look at that for another minute."

With that said, the two began to descend down the mountain to save the world...


	5. Chapter Four

**.:Chapter Four:.**

"It is all falling into place." Tabuu yanked the strange, golden strings, watching his little puppets jerk to his touch. "Those fools thought they had killed me. Their arrogance blinds them tremendously." It was unclear if he was talking to himself or to some unseen ally. "And now, they have dug their own grave." The Subspace Emissary frowned as he heard one of his 'puppets' mutter a small protest. The string tightened and the sound was cut off, as though the speaker had been gagged.

"They are considerably weaker now as they have done something they should have never done." He gave a bitter smile as he continued. "They have created a bond, a friendship with each other. How stupid. It is their greatest weakness, the weapon that will smite them all."

Tabuu raised his glowing hand and opened a portal, grim amusement on his face. "They will fall so easily in an attempt to protect each other...I sincerely wish to see the looks on their faces when they die by my little puppets." A warm breeze floated from the portal and Tabuu let out a wistful sigh, as though he remembered a long gone memory. "Revenge...to accomplish such a thing would almost taste sweeter than life itself." Was that a flicker of longing in those soulless eyes? "The world will be mine again..."

* * *

"Do these things ever die?!" Red growled in frustration. No matter how many Primids they killed, they just seemed to rise up again and again. Charizard ripped apart several of the Primids in half with his bare claws, but it seemed to have no effect on them whatsoever. They stared with blank unknowing eyes as they slowly regenerated, advancing toward their targets with a deadly intent.

Lucas backed away as the creatures circled him, fatigue beginning to seep into him. "PK Freeze!" The Primids fell back, frozen, unable to move. The boy took the chance to run off to help Red, where he was trying to keep his foes at bay.

Charizard, tired but too proud to give up, swiped at the advancing wall of Primids, knocking several of them down. Red kicked at the huge mob, hoping to delay them as he chose out his other Pokemon. "Ivysaur, Squirtle go!"

The two Pokemon leaped from their Pokeballs, battle-ready. They fell upon the Primids with a fierce battle cry. For a brief moment, the sea of Primids retreated, but quickly rushed forward to surround the group.

"Squirtle squir turtle!" **Dang, I knew I should've stayed in the Pokeball!** Squirtle grumbled as he launched himself at the enemies with a powerful Waterfall attack. The enemies were knocked down flat by the sheer power of the water but easily got back up and reached for the heroes.

* * *

The two humanoid animals warily watched each other as they circled one another, watching their opponent's every move.

"What are you up to this time, Wolf?" Fox spat.

Wolf answered in a contemptuous tone. "Wouldn't you like to know, McCloud? I would think so." He snickered. "You were always slow to catch up on things, Fox, for such a fast runner. It's obvious that all of this is Tabuu's doing."

Fox felt his fur bristle at the insult. He had a biting edge to his voice as he answered, "Just answer me, Wolf! What did Tabuu promise you for helping him?"

"Wouldn't the little kitty like to know?" The rivals charged at each other. Fox gracefully dodged Wolf's punch and responded with yet another kick. Wolf met it head on with his fist.

"You aren't as smart as you like to think, McCloud." Wolf hissed in Fox's ear. "You are just like your old man. If you ask me, he's better off dead!"

Fox's eyes flashed in anger and jumped back, blaster aimed at his nemesis. Wolf snarled in irritation.

"Playtime is over, McCloud! You aren't in your little cockpit now, surrounded by your friends, are you?"

"Shut up." Fox coldly answered...and fired.

* * *

The two friends stood back-to-back. Red could feel himself trembling as he studied their bad situation. "Lucas, kiddo...do you think you have some energy in you to do one more PK Freeze?"

Did everything suddenly depend on him? "I'll try," Lucas whispered. He closed his eyes, mustering the little energy left in him to generate the familiar snow-flake shaped attack. Time seemed to slow down as the Primids leaped at them. Faltering, the psychic attack shimmered briefly in the air, and for a split second, their hopes lifted.

As if to taunt their hope, the attack vanished. The Primids swarmed all over them, drowning them in their huge numbers. Even Charizard's huge bulk was buried underneath the living sea and he let out a cry of hate and pain as he was dragged to the ground. Lucas crouched low to the ground, his eyes squeezed shut, gripping the hard earth as though it would somehow stave off the agony that was coming.

Somebody slammed himself above the small boy. Lucas dared to open his eyes and found, aghast, that 

the Pokemon Trainer was using himself as a human shield to protect him.

_His mother suddenly flung herself in front of Drago's path as he charged forward to attack Claus and him. He could feel his blood go cold as he watched her fall, a peaceful look on her dead and bloody face..._

"No! Red!" Lucas tugged at Red's arm, trying to prevent his suicidal intention. "Get down! Don't do this!" The Pokemon Trainer did not seem to hear him as he bore the attacks meant for Lucas, a feeble smile on his face.

"I'll be...all right...kiddo..."

_He could feel Claus dragging him away to the river, his weak struggles were useless. He cried for his mother again and again but she did not get up, she did not answer. The only answer were the fearsome roars of Drago as he prepared to attack them now..._

Red's arms trembled from the sheer weight, but he did not move. Lucas felt tears run down his face, feeling utterly helpless. His mother and Red blurred together into one with the same dead, calm look forever etched on their faces...

"PK THUNDER!"

The Primids were blasted away by the strong electrical blast, squirming in pain. Lucas was standing up, his legs wobbling with fear and exhaustion. He felt the world spin as he forced himself to stay conscience, to fight for his friend.

Out of nowhere, a blue blur dashed through the scene and blasted a good amount of the Primids away, stopping in front of Lucas. The boy could only stare.

"Looks like we came just in time." Falco commented, flipping his blaster with practiced ease. "They regenerate now? Tabuu has way too much time on his hands."

As the Primids got up, a rain of shining arrows fell upon the creatures, pinning them to the ground. Pit landed, with Zelda and Link following closely. The Primids struggled to get back up, but the arrows held firm.

"I hate those things." Pit muttered.

Fox's blast narrowly missed Wolf. The commander noted that he was outnumbered despite his Primids. He sneered, "It's not over yet, McCloud. You have won a tiny victory, but the war is just beginning!" He did a fancy back-flip back into his Arwing's cockpit, and took off. Fox watched him leave, anger still pounding away in his blood.

The Primids, seeing that their general had fled, began to fall into a disorderly retreat, scrambling away from these strange, powerful new adversaries. The group watched the cowardly creatures flee in silence. The smell of blood stank the air, and the few Primids who were trapped by Pit's arrows pitifully squealed as they tried to join their comrades in their retreat.

"Well that wasn't so hard." Pit tried to lighten up the mood. "We just had to show up and look what happens!"

No one laughed or even cracked a smile. The angel seemed a bit crest-fallen at that and mumbled something to himself.

The mountain in the distance ominously rumbled.

* * *

"Popo!" The girl Ice Climber tugged at her partner's sleeve, panic written in her eyes. "There's something wrong with the mountain!"

"What do you mean, Nana?" Popo answered, a sinking feeling beginning to form in his gut. The two had almost made it to the bottom of the mountain, which, much to his dismay, was near the huge sphere thing. Nana only pointed a shaking finger.

At the base of the mountain, a huge rip forced itself open. A boy stepped out, baseball bat in hand, his eyes vacant of all emotions as he stood there, still as a statue. As if hearing some unheard orders, he looked up the mountain and spoke with a monotonous voice: "PK Thunder."

The Ice Climbers could not believe their eyes as the psychic lightning hit the boulder above them, almost striking them as it tumbled down the slope. There was no way this could be possible, yet it was happening. He was hurling psychic attack after psychic attack at them...

"It can't be..." Nana whispered.

It was Ness.


	6. Chapter Five

**.:Chapter Five:.**

His life was flashing before his eyes.

The earth seemed to rush up to greet them as did death. Popo's body was frozen stiff. Nana was beside him, gloved hand held tightly in his. How could they have been so careless? It had been so obvious that that rock had been loose, sending them tumbling toward their enemy.

It made no sense. Why was Ness attacking them? Was it even Ness? It looked like him, sounded like him, but it acted entirely different. Was it possible...?

His thoughts were cut off as they slammed into the hard, packed dirt, bouncing several times before stopping at Ness's feet. Nana swung her hammer at the boy, trying to protect Popo. Ness simply side-stepped her, kicked the hammer out of her hands, and suddenly gripped her arm.

The numbness that held Popo seemed to lift as Ness began to twist his sister's arm slowly back. Rage filled him as he attacked, a war cry rippling through the air. Ness raised his hand and Popo was blown back by some invisible force.

The Ice Climber began to charge forward once more. Emotionless, Ness twisted Nana's arm further, making her cry out in pain. Popo stopped, held back by his twin's pain. "You move another step, Popo, and your sister will suffer more than a broken arm." As if to emphasize this, his other hand gripped her neck. Nana's eyes were as wide as saucers as she felt Ness's grip tighten.

Popo slowly stepped back. "What do you want?" He whispered.

Did he see a brief flicker of satisfaction in those eyes? "You will bring me the others."

A cold voice pierced the air. "Not if I can help it." A huge ball of energy knocked Ness away, forcing him to release his death-grip on Nana. Popo caught Nana as she fell, his gaze flickering from her to their mysterious savior. Ness got up, his face slightly covered with soot.

"It's a cowardly thing to do...holding prisoners like that." Lucario said, his face illuminated by the blue aura pulsing around his paws. His scarlet eyes held a spark of hatred as he smoothly continued. "Isn't that right...Tabuu?"

* * *

The cardboard box sat on the outskirts of the castle, looking extremely out of place. Someone had attempted to make it seem more 'natural' by gluing some weeds and painting some of it green. Pitiful.

The minutes sluggishly ticked by. A tumbleweed rolled past the box.

The box slowly rotated to the left, than to the left. As if deciding the coast was clear, it began to shuffle its way toward the castle...

* * *

"So we're supposed to find everyone, convince them to join us since Tabuu is coming back, and somehow rush to Subspace and kick Tabuu's butt once more? Ha. That sounds way easy."

Fox grumbled. "Do you have a better plan, Pit?"

"Heck no. Your plan is fine. But don't you think that..." Pit hesitated. "Tabuu expects us to do that?"

"Of course he will expect us. Hold still, Red." Zelda yanked the bandage she was tying on Red's arm tighter. The Pokemon Trainer winced.

"Can't you heal me instead?"

"As Pit says, Tabuu will expect us. We must conserve our energy. Isn't it the same with your Pokemon?"

Red rolled his eyes. "With Ivysaur and Charizard, yes. But Squirtle? You just throw him an ounce of sugar and he...ow! Not so hard!" The complaint popped out of him before he could stop it.

Lucas stood to the side, watching the others heatedly discuss what course of action they should take. Fox argued that they should attempt to gather the others back and take Tabuu down. Pit rejected the idea, claiming that Tabuu would expect this and that he would somehow find a way to stop this from happening. Link reluctantly sided with Pit, earning him harsh glares from Falco. If Zelda wanted to throw her two cents in, she did not show it. The princess was deep in thought, trying to figure out a solution that would get them to all agree. Red just grumbled about Squirtle's caffeine problem.

Falco unexpectedly swore as Pit suggested going straight into Tabuu's plane. "There's no way we can just waltz in there with our tiny group! It's suicide!"

"Well, we can't exactly waste time hunting the others, can we?" The angel retorted. "It's better if we go there in small numbers anyway. He won't expect it and he'll be taken by surprise..."

"...And we'll get killed by the army running rampage around there!"

"Calm down." Link stepped between the two. "We aren't going anywhere the way we're acting."

Falco's feathers bristled at that. "I haven't seen you doing anything." Link shrugged the insult off.

Pit backed off, muttering to himself. Fox tapped his communicator smartly, trying to re-establish the connection. "Well, as much as I hate to tell you, Falco, Link's right. We'll have to think clearly to work this out."

As the conversation continued, Lucas felt something tug at his pants. He jumped back in surprise as he saw a strange, white little creature staring at him with wide eyes.

"Oro?" It cutely tilted its head, which happened to have a flower growing on it, and those eyes widened. **Are you going to eat me?**

Lucas almost laughed at that. "I'm not going to eat you." The boy squatted down, watching the strange creature run around. Wait...wasn't this...? "Aren't you a Pikmin?"

It let out a small squeak. **Leader calls us that. Our Leader is in danger. He sent me to get help. "Get help from the others," He said.**

That was all Lucas needed to hear. He gently picked up the white Pikmin and ran to Red and Zelda. "Guys! Look! I found one of Olimar's Pikmin!" The Pikmin gave another squeak, this time of terror.

**Oh please don't eat me! Don't eat me! I didn't mean to insult you!**

All attention was focused on Lucas now. He cringed slightly, he never really got used to drawing attention to himself, but talked. "Olimar sent this Pikmin to find us to save him."

"And how do you know that, kid?" Fox skeptically asked.

"I can t-talk to animals."

"That's great. Just ask the little flower thing where Olimar is."

Lucas stared at the shivering Pikmin in his palm. "I think it's s-scared of us."

Red half-heartedly pulled at a stray wrap of bandage. "Why? It's not like we're going to eat it, right?"

Lucas flushed. "It thinks we're going to eat it." Red passed his laugh off as an acceptable sneeze.

**I'll tell everything!** The Pikmin continued to squeak. **Just don't eat me!** Suddenly it jumped off Lucas's hand and made a mad dash toward the trees.

"Get that Pikmin!" Pit dived and missed. In a matter of minutes, almost everyone was scrambling to get the panicking Pikmin. Zelda stood to the side, as though waiting for something.

**Noooooo! I have a full life ahead of me! I'm young! I have wife and kids! You can't eat me!** The Pikmin suddenly ran toward them, screaming shrilly. Falco slammed his wing over the creature, exclaiming, "Gotcha!"

His victory was short lived. The Pikmin somehow managed to worm itself out of the humanoid's grasp and continued to run, eyes so wide that they could have popped out of its head.

Zelda bent down and watched it run in panicked circles. Carefully, she plucked it up by the stem. The Pikmin gave a small whimper as it struggled to get out. "So, Lucas, do you think you can get this little guy to calm down and talk?"

* * *

Lucario studied his opponent's movements, moving in front of the Ice Climbers to protect them from harm. The aura of the boy was different from what he had seen before. Something had mixed its own life force with Ness's and he could see the invisible strings that controlled the boy's every move. The aura surrounding Lucario flared. As far as he was concerned, Ness was dead, gone. He only saw Tabuu 

standing there.

"Get out of here." Lucario warned the two. "This isn't a place for the wounded." Popo sat there, a defiant look on his face.

"We aren't going to leave you alone to fight." Nana struggled to her feet, holding her hammer unsteadily with her injured arm.

"I do not want to have any black mark on my conscience." Lucario answered.

"We'll be-"

"Move!"

The Pokemon pushed the two out of the path of the deadly bolt of fire that almost hit them. Ness rushed at them, bat raised. Lucario caught the bat between the paws as it fell centimeters away from his face. He yanked it out of the youth's grip and punched him straight in the stomach. It sent him flying into the air and crashing into a tree. Like a machine he rose back up. He was immediately greeted by a strong kick from Lucario which knocked him into the ground. The Aura Pokemon jumped back, eyes narrowed in hatred. Ness lay on the ground, eyes closed.

The Ice Climbers watched, eyes wide. Why wasn't Ness fighting back? Suddenly it dawned on them... "Lucario, stop!" Popo and Nana were suddenly holding Lucario back, just as he was about to deal the finishing blow. "You'll...kill him!"

"It's not Ness anymore." The Pokemon spoke as though he was talking about the weather. "He's merely a shadow of Tabuu now. The Ness you know is dead." He tried to shrug their grips off. Despite for their small stature, they had an iron grip on him.

"No! That's not it!" Nana cried. "He's not dead! He's still alive and aware of what's happening!"

"What are you talking about?" Lucario scrutinized the two with a cold, calculating stare. The Pokemon knew exactly what they were saying, though. Without another word, he stepped back.

Ness's eyes suddenly snapped open and fired a powerful bolt of energy at the trio. Lucario leaped, barely dragging the two to safety with him.

"You are all so...manipulative." The voice, Ness's and somehow not, grated through the air. "Yes, I have taken control of his body. You will not attack him in fear for killing him. Isn't that correct? None of you have the heart to do so..." A twisted smile beamed at them as the voice continued. "Your downfall is eminent. It would be far better to surrender now..."

Lucario said nothing. The Ice Climbers watched the stranger and friend draw in closer...

* * *

_He lay there, floating in the air._

_He had given up fighting long ago. He floated, suspended above nothing, his shackles feeling heavier than before. Tabuu had made it his personal pleasure to torture him by showing him the damage he was causing._

_He had fought back then. But it had been futile. The shackles held fast. They would not let go. And now, he was giving up._

_It might as well have been death itself. He felt his fists clench in frustration. There must be a way out! There must be..._

_"There is no way out, Ness." Tabuu whispered in his ear. "You are but a puppet with a name now. Every thought, every word, every action you do is caused solely by me."_

_...No. He must block out those horrible images, the horrible pain that was flooding through him..._

_He lay there, floating in the air._


	7. Chapter Six

**.:Chapter Six:.**

The Pikmin had finally managed to talk, though a tad scared still, and agreed to help lead the group. They had a bit of trouble keeping up with the small white creature as it was hard to keep track of while they had to take great pains not to step on it.

According to the Pikmin, Lucas had carefully explained, Olimar had managed to escape Tabuu. The Captain was now hiding near Onett and was taking great pains to conceal himself from the Primids who surrounded the area. The boy translated nothing else as the Pikmin continued to speak, and the others had the idea that Olimar had to leave a certain someone behind to return. Whoever that someone was must have been terribly important to Lucas.

As they traveled, Lucas kept his gaze on the dirt path. Red walked next to him, speaking quietly to his friend. Lucas would only stare at the Pokemon Trainer like he was a hallucination and jerked slightly away when Red put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Hard feelings had grown between Pit and Falco. The two refused to even speak to each other, even if it was to discuss important matters. Fox, Link, and Zelda were exasperated by their childish rivalry and warned them that this could not continue.

"C'mon," Fox groaned. "You two can't act this way the entire trip! If we want to defeat Tabuu, we'll need to do it together like be-"

Falco crossly cut Fox off. "I can't work with him and I won't. You're not siding with him, are you?"

"Falco!"

Falco simply glanced at Pit who happened to be coming to discuss something with Fox and coolly said, "Excuse me, I have to gather some firewood." With that he left, head held up high in disdain.

The journey was going to be a long one...but none of them would realize the trouble that they were about to bump into.

* * *

Lucario involuntarily stepped back as he saw the lightning crackle around Ness's fingers once more. The Pokemon's mind scrambled for a solution. If that boy fired at the range they were in...they were bound to be killed...

But he couldn't hurt the PSI kid either. If he attacked him once more, Ness might die. Lucario cursed under his breath and took another step back, faintly aware that the Ice Climbers were mirroring his moves. The only solution was to run, and even in the dire situation, Lucario was reluctant to do so.

Popo suddenly jumped boldly in front of Lucario, pulling his sister along with him. "Ness! You have to keep fighting! Fight back, Ness!"

Ness halted in mid-step, as though he was frozen in time. His body shook as though he was struggling to overcome the demon in himself, and for a moment, they saw the familiar flicker in his eyes. "Keep fighting! Ness..." Their voices died away as he suddenly snapped back up, his eyes blank and vacant once more.

He jerkily pointed a finger at them and the grating voice snarled, "Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Lucario snatched the two as he realized what was happening and leaped into the cover of the trees, just as a huge bolt fried the spot they had been standing a moment ago.

As they dashed through the leafy canopy with Ness in hot pursuit, Lucario felt something wet strike his fur. Tears.

* * *

_"You are trying to break free again, are you?"_

_He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the pulsing figure in front of him. It was impossible. Tabuu crept closer and he could feel his chilly breath blast into his face._

_"That is a meaningless attempt, my little puppet. Do you really think that you could break out so easily? Haven't you learned that it is a stupid move to try and fight against me?" Tabuu's words became deceivingly soothing as he continued. "If you don't fight back, Ness, it will hurt less," Fingers as cold as the voice caressed Ness's face. "It will hurt much, much less..."_

* * *

Somewhere in a tiny hollow, a man was waiting under the cover of some leaves with many colored Pikmin surrounding him. He was a prisoner of his own Pikmin he had depended on so much for his defenses. And now, the trap was set. He had tried to stop them, but it had failed.

The man shivered, despite the warmth in the hollow. His mind whirred with plans to escape...and somehow send a message to the others to stay away. A patrolling Primid glanced inside to make sure everything was all right. The man wriggled closer to the corner of the hollow. The Primid gave a small nod and marched on.

He must escape. He must escape and warn them to stay away. But with what?

* * *

Princess Peach stared at the odd box in the corner of the kitchen, feeling a bit uneasy. There was something strange about that...and familiar. The princess slyly left the room and quickly dashed back in, just in time to see it scurrying across the tiled floor. "Aha! Snake, take off that ridiculous box of yours!"

The person inside the box grumbled and tossed it off, a suspicious look in his eyes. "Fine, you got me," Snake crouched low, searching the room for any possible enemies. Peach waited patiently. "Where's that guy...with the mustache...what's his name? Ah, yeah, Mario."

The blond princess motioned for Snake to stand up straight. "That's my dress hem you're looking at. Mario is not in my dress, if you wish to know. He's off with Luigi, chasing down Bowser."

Snake straightened up, glanced around, and said, "I have a message for him. Must be delivered personally." He added when he saw Peach about to volunteer to take the message. "Top secret, you know?"

"What is the big rush and the box, then?"

"It's something that's very important. It's all about Tabuu and Subspace, but it doesn't concern you-"

"I think it does," Peach crossed her arms, an annoyed look on her face. "If it includes Tabuu, then it is a concern for all of us." Snake was about to argue, but he slammed his trap shut. "I don't see any reason you cannot give me the message. I am as trustworthy as Mario." She gracefully made her way to the stove and turned off the fire. "Why don't you tell me over a cup of tea?"

Snake hesitated. "I don't see why not." He sat down on one of the comfy toad-stool shaped chair and let out a long sigh. "It's going to take a while to explain, Peach, but I think you'll stick with me..."

* * *

"Damn...my head..." Falco suddenly stopped, a wing over his eyes. All stopped to look at him in concern. "Don't worry, I'll be fine...it's just a headache anyway...I said I'm fine!" He snapped at Pit who ventured to extend a friendly hand. "I don't need your...help..."

The angel rolled his eyes at Falco's rejection but obeyed his weak words. Zelda made an involuntary movement, as though she wanted to help Falco, but turned away, whispering something to Link instead. The Hero of Time nodded and unsheathed his sword. Fox took notice of this and eased his blaster out, his eyepiece flipped on to scan for any threat.

Abruptly, Falco collapsed onto the dingy path, muttering angrily to himself.

"You're in no condition to continue, Falco." Link pointed out. "We should camp here..."

"We need to rescue that little freak." Falco retorted. "We can't afford to...take..." His voice drifted off as another spasm of pain jolted through him. "...A rest!"

"Olimar is not a freak." Red objected. "He's just-"

"Watch out!" Lucas suddenly cried in surprise. The white Pikmin scrambled back to them, its red eyes wide with fear. Bursting from the trees came a canine-like creature dragging two Eskimos with him.

The group leaped into an offensive stance as the canine creature gently set the kids down. He growled as he looked around him, a wispy aura glowing from his paws. "He's coming."

The unspoken question hung heavily in the air, one that was on their minds: _Who was coming?_

They wished they hadn't found the answer as a boy stepped from the bushes, a yo-yo dangling from his finger. Lucas stumbled back, disbelief filled his eyes. "N-Ness?" The PSI attack that he was forming suddenly detonated in his shock, dissipating into harmless sparks. "B-but..."

Ness spun an around-the-world with ease and gravely answered in that horrible flat voice. "Friendships are hard to make, yet so easily to be broken...isn't that right?" Lucas made an indistinguishable sound. Ness thrusted an arm into the air and shouted, "PK Starstorm!"

Lucas's world literally exploded.

* * *

:RUN EMOTIONS.pm  
:RUN AWAKENING.pm  
:RUN AREASCAN.pm  
/...100 PERCENT DONE.  
:RUN MAINPROCESSOR.pm  
/...100 PERCENT DONE.  
/...ALL SYSTEMS GO.

The robot jerked to life, shaking off the ash that was covering him. He gave a robotic form of a shiver as he looked at the burnt ruins around him. Smoke still lingered in the air. From his data scans, there were no living life forms. He quickly searched through his memory files, trying hard to retrieve the events that had happened.

There had been three of them. Two men. Their names? He paused, digging deeper into his hard drive. Yes...he remembered them now. Ike and Marth. They had been defending this place when those...things came.

The robot looked around him once more, and he felt a pulse of fear trickle through his systems. Were they all right? He must find them. Find them and get them to safe harbor. There was something evil still lurking around this land.

He began his lonely decent down the hill.

* * *

**Legaspeth. Author's note.  
**I really don't understand why it won't show the percent symbol and the two slashes in front of the semi-colons for the computer thingy and the underscore 3 Ah well, use your imagination XD;;;


	8. Chapter Seven

**.:Chapter Seven:.**

"Lucas!" Red picked up the unconscience boy. He was rewarded for his concern with a glancing meteor that struck his arm. The Pokemon Trainer reeled back in pain, still holding Lucas tightly to his chest.

"What are you doing?" Pit demanded. "We have to run or we'll all be killed!" The angel sped toward the safety of the forest. His point was made clear as several larger space rocks began to rain down at a faster pace.

Everything seemed to move in a sluggish slow motion as Link scrambled away from the huge meteors assaulting them. Red hurried after them, a wound on his shoulder had re-opened from the blow a meteor had given him. Zelda casted shield after shield before joining the others in the retreat. Fox began to dash to the front, skidded to a stop, and looked back.

"Falco! What-?" Falco was lying in the middle of the road, clutching his head in agony. The ace pilot wasted no time to rush to his fallen comrade, ignoring a narrow meteor that almost struck him. The spot it struck literally exploded. Fox was not fazed as he urged Falco, "Get up quickly. Don't argue!"

"You idiot!" Falco rasped in his ear as Fox helped him up. "Go without me! I can catch up!"

Fox didn't answer him as he hoisted the humanoid bird up and ran after the group, weaving in and out of the dangerous war zone.

Lucario knocked away a few more of the meteoroids before dragging the Ice Climbers with him.

In the middle of all the chaos was a pulsing portal where Ness had been minutes ago. It suddenly enlarged and huge waves of dark matter poured from it, flowing after the heroes, eager to devour everything in its path. Nothing stood in its way as all it touched vanished into the foul bubbling mass.

The invasion had begun.

* * *

"Mario should be back any minute now." Peach calmly said as she set down her cup. Snake frowned. Wasn't she worried?

"That's good," Snake couldn't help asking the next question, "But, if I may ask...aren't you concerned about this?"

The princess stirred her tea, taking her time to respond. "I always feel like there's something wrong with the kingdom every day. Riots, monsters..." Peach let out a small giggle. "I almost wish I didn't live here 

with all the evil running amok. But we're heroes, Snake. All of us are. Our duty is to protect those who cannot protect themselves and to save the world from the persistent evil. I am not surprised that Tabuu has come back. Evil always does. I learned it...the hard way." She paused to sip her tea. "And you must know, a hero's work is never done! Why, when Mario and I went to take a nice vacation at Delfino Island, it turned out to be another adventure!"

Snake set his own cup down, mildly impressed by her little speech. "Yeah, I understand that, princess." He understood it all too well. You gain some, you lose some... "Look, I know you're gonna be wanting to come along to fight and everything..."

"And is anyone or anything going to stop me?" Peach nodded at Snake's empty cup. "Would you like more tea?" Before the agent could respond, an old looking Toad dashed in, his glasses askew.

"Princess Toadstool!" The adviser exclaimed. He swallowed nervously and burst out, "Luigi returned from the journey-"

"That's excellent, Toadsworthy! But Mario...?"

Toadsworthy's silence told Peach everything. The princess leaned back in her chair, her eyes closed. Snake, feeling a bit annoyed at being left out on what was happening said, "What happened to that...uh...plumber guy?"

"He has been captured along with Bowser." Toadsworthy answered in a tiny voice. Snake groaned.

"Great. Does everything have to have some sort of complication in it?!"

"Where is Luigi?" Peach quietly demanded.

"O-on the castle's stairs. He refuses to come in..." The old Toad cleared his throat. "Princess Toadstool, I know what you are thinking and I advise-"

"Come, Snake," Peach suddenly stood up, a determined look on her face. "We're going to have a little talk with Luigi."

* * *

_"Leave them alone!" He screamed at Tabuu, struggling harder against his bonds. Why? Why was he doing all of this?_

_Tabuu had two limp bodies floating beside him and a cruel smirk on his face. "You think that will stop me?" He shook one of the bodies. "Which one shall I make my next puppet, Ness? Who do you think should be first? The twerp or the bird? What's with the tears? Don't you like to play games?"_

_Something dug through his mind, searching for his innermost thoughts. In vain he tried to block it out, but he failed. "So, this twerp means something to you, does he?" Tabuu sneered. The enmity reached deeper into his memories, laughing at every bit. "You never cease to amaze me with your weaknesses."_

_"Stop..." He weakly protested._

_"Why do you all speak such words when you know that I will not listen? Do you think I will take compassion on you?" Tabuu's grin widened. "I have made my decision-"_

_His roar of rage and pain drowned out the rest of Tabuu's words. "NO! Leave him alone!" His psychic powers suddenly turned on at full blast as he tried valiantly to escape his shackles. Tabuu floated there, unaffected by the immense power his puppet was unleashing._

_Clink. A single shackle fell away. Tabuu's eyes flashed in anger and he flicked a single finger. Everything abruptly died away back into the dull, endless nothingness. "You all amuse me. Even your best efforts cannot harm me now. I have grown in power, in mind. Everything will return to the way it had been before you...pollutants had came." The golden strings slowly made their way toward its victim, infecting upon contact. "And I shall be at the head of this utopia...the Old Order will be restored."_

* * *

Were his visual processors malfunctioning?

R.O.B. turned around, blinking in confusion. His sensors detected no signs of life. But he could have sworn he saw...there! The robot turned so swiftly that he almost fell over.

That was odd. Now his sensors were picking up the tell-tale signs of a living organism right-

He turned around too late and was met face-to-face with a rather nasty looking sword. The wielder glared at R.O.B. through his strange mask before backing off. "My mistake and apologies, R.O.B. I thought you were...another one of those...comrades of yours..."

The mention of his siblings switched on the sad pulses running through his body, the ones he had contained so long ago. R.O.B. looked down and buzzed, "I understand, Meta Knight. It is hard to tell the difference. But I will assure you that none of my si-...comrades are evil at heart."

Meta Knight drew his cape closer to himself, shielding himself from the surprisingly strong wind coming in. The acid smell of smoke came with it. "Why are you here?"

"To search for Ike and Marth." He promptly replied. "We were defending this castle from the enemy forces. All was going well until the Primids overtook us."

"Primids?" Meta Knight's voice did not have a tone of disbelief in it, like R.O.B. expected.

"Affirmative."

The warrior stared hard at something inside the robot, making him feel a bit uncomfortable. "I will help you on your search then. I am looking for someone myself..." He cut himself off as though he remembered he was not to speak of these things. "Let us go now. I have a feeling that they will be somewhere in that direction." Meta Knight's cape spread and he was flying toward the eastern horizon. R.O.B. did not hesitate to follow Meta Knight.

* * *

"Damn it." Wolf paced in the tiny room he had, a fierce scowl on his face. There was a childish cry coming from downstairs which greatly annoyed the humanoid wolf. "Can't you shut him up?"

"We're trying our best to." The officer stiffly answered. He had his cap angled just so so you couldn't see his face. His uniform was over-sized for him, but he did not seem to mind. "Obviously, he has more stomach than brains..."

"I don't care." Wolf snapped. "Keep him quiet or you're next."

The officer did not seem the least intimidated. He smartly nodded and quickly left the room in an odd, stiff-legged gait. Wolf shook off the feeling that there was something wrong with the officer. Tabuu always did send strange people to aid him...

Wolf should have trusted his instinct.

The moment the officer went far enough from Wolf's office, he lifted his cap a bit to see better. A flash of red, blue, and black briefly flickered in the darkness of the castle as he quickly tilted his cap back down. Operation Rescue was underway...

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is such a crappy short chapter 3; I am so sorry. My brain just went...poof. Yeah. It could be better, but my brain refuses...anyway, if you can guess who the spy is, I'll give you a virtual cookie 8D;


	9. Chapter Eight

**.:Chapter Eight:.**

He hated digging.

The dirt and other underground creatures always proved a threat of clogging his life support systems, the rocks scratched his helmet…in fact, he could provide an extremely long list of why he hated being underground. He was a scientist, not a digger! But desperate times called for desperate measures, as the saying went.

Olimar froze, hearing the heavy footsteps of a sentry. The Primids had been indeed nice enough to bring him some food. The Captain had lured the Pikmin close to him and slammed the bowl that the Primid had given him to trap those little creatures. He then proceeded to stomp on several of them when he removed the bowl to show the puzzled creatures.

The memory twisted his heart. He hated to kill those poor Pikmin when they had given him so much help and loyalty. Olimar shook the unwelcome feeling off and dug deeper. His hands were already sore from the work though he was wearing gloves. The weary Captain was nearing his limit. Ha. For a guy who could climb through dangerous terrain with ease, he was still no digger.

Suddenly, the weak light filtering from above went dark and Olimar stiffened. There was another thing to add to his list of why he hated being underground. The entrance hole, his only escape in case he met something unpleasant down here, was blockaded by a huge mound of dirt.

There were two options: grope blindly in the dark or stay where he was. Olimar chose the first option, though he cautiously dug his way through the thick soil now. It was amazing he had made it this far. He wasn't going to quit now. He had to warn the others before they become victims to the trap.

His hands screamed for rest, screamed for him to stop. Olimar gritted his teeth against the pain and painfully continued his grueling task. "Only two thousand more feet to go," he muttered, trying to keep tabs on his progress. Perhaps that would keep him sane. Doubtful.

* * *

"Listen, we have to keep moving."

Red refused to budge. "We're safe here for now."

"For now," Lucario couldn't help pointing out. "And 'for now' is not safe harbor."

Red glanced at the Pokemon sharply. "This town is good enough for now! We need to rest, don't we?"

"That is true," Link sided with the Pokemon Trainer. "We can't go on forever. I noticed that some of us are tiring."

"That Subspace bomb is spreading," Pit grumbled. "If we're going to stay here, we have to make it short."

The group had fled to a nearby town, which, unfortunately wasn't far from the spreading Shadow Bug wave. It would have to do though as they were beginning to tire and in need of rest. Zelda had managed to barter a fairly large room from the innkeeper who, fortunately, seemed to be a very generous man. Lucas had still not regained conscience, and, much to the heroes' worry, seemed to be getting a fever. Falco was almost as bad. He was rendered nearly immobile with his headache's growing pain and found it difficult to speak.

The Ice Climbers had been sent to get some supplies from any store they could find. They were the least known of them and children, after all, barely drew any attention. Now they were returning, hefting heavy looking paper bags. Nana's arm had only suffered a mild bruising by some miracle and she almost the same as before, save a few abrupt pains.

"We got some clothes," Popo explained when Fox stared in puzzlement at a bag labeled 'S.B. Benny's'. "For disguise and everything, just in case we need to 'disappear'."

"We also got some medicine for Lucas and Falco." Nana chimed in. "We also got some tents, some weapons…"

"…and food of course." Popo finished for her. They toddled over to the table and gratefully dumped their burden off.

"Who is going to wear this?" Pit had snatched a shirt from the S.B. Benny's bag while he was checking the clothes inside. It was a bright pink emblazed with the words: 'THEY CALL ME MR. PINK!'

Popo and Nana suppressed a giggle. "You can wear it, if you want to…" Popo peevishly began.

The angel flushed a bit and stuffed the shirt back into the paper bag. "What gives you that idea?" The Ice Climbers only burst out laughing.

Red rummaged through one of the smaller bags and jumped back with a yell. "What the-? What was that slimy thing?!"

"Slimy?" The Ice Climbers looked at each other. "We didn't buy anything slimy…and all the food are in packages…" Nana thoughtfully said. "Unless the octopus leaked out."

Zelda looked at the two children curiously. "Octopus?"

"Yeah. There was a sale for live octopus-"

Red ignored the others as he snatched up the tiny jars of medicine he had been searching for. He mumbled something to himself as he squinted at the miniscule labels and made his way toward the other room where Lucas and Falco were resting.

Lucario stood to the side, watching the others chatter away. He felt a twinge of jealously at the others relaxing and teasing each other so freely. He suddenly turned away, trying to direct his attention to inspect the town for any peculiar aura.

The Pokemon could sense the Subspace had stopped its lethal wave of destruction at the moment. If they were to move, now was the perfect time to. But they refused. And Lucario was no fool to wander off alone…

He felt lonely. He realized the strange feeling bubbling up inside of him and unsuccessfully tried to pound it away. Lucario had been living on his own for almost his entire life. Why would it be any different now?

"This shirt is for Lucario!" The Pokemon heard Nana proudly announced. There was stifled laughter as Nana waved the shirt around. Lucario turned just in time to see the girl waving a shirt that said, 'NUMBER ONE DADDY'.

Lucario inwardly groaned.

* * *

"That bush looks suspicious." R.O.B. had stopped in front of a lone bush, his eyes scanning the strange, huge hedge.

Meta Knight paid no attention as he surveyed the area for any possible enemies. They had made it to a rather unpleasant citadel where, the warrior suspected, Kirby and possibly the others were being held hostage.

"Stand back, please."

"What?" He turned around to see what R.O.B. was doing and was greeted with a mass of branches and leaves flying into his mask. He hastily wiped the foliage off to see an impressive looking race-car. Meta Knight approached it, scrutinizing the odd vehicle. "Who would park their car here of all places?"

"My files offer the conclusion that this car belongs to the bounty hunter Captain Falcon." R.O.B. mechanically said. He tilted his head down a bit in embarrassment at his know-it-all tone. "It seems like he has been here."

Meta Knight did not answer as he grimly continued searching the flat area for a possible way in without detection. "This way." Meta Knight suddenly said. His cape unfurled once more and he began to fly toward the fortress, with R.O.B. trailing after him once more.

* * *

"Give him something to eat, Ike."

"Like what?"

"He's hungry. Isn't there anything in here that he can at least suck on?"

The mercenary rolled his eyes. "Unless you count that rock in the far corner, no, I don't think so."

"Puyo…" Kirby stared at the two men with wide eyes. He stared sadly at his belly, patting it for good measure.

"Just give him the rock, Ike." Marth looked sympathetically at the puffball. "It's better than nothing."

Ike stared at the rock lying in the corner of the cell. "I don't think he'd accept it. It stinks like manure." Despite what he had just said, he tossed the rock at Kirby. Kirby happily sucked on it for a second, made a face, and spat it out before flopping onto the stone ground once more, looking sadder than ever.

"W-watermelon." The word came out quite childishly and soon became parrot-like as Kirby began to chant the same word over and over again. "Watermelon! Watermelon!"

"All right! All right!" Ike waved a hand. "We'll get you a watermelon!"

Marth was amused. "How are we going to get a watermelon when we're stuck in here?"

"Look little buddy," Ike kneeled at Kirby's eye level. "Do you mind sucking those keys over there here? If we get out, we'll get you your watermelon." Kirby was more than happy to waddle over to the cell bars and attempt to suck the keys toward them. Ike chuckled a bit as he said, "We'll be out of here in no time, Marth." The prince simply shook his head and watched.

The keys, hanging from the wall teasingly, began to hesitantly shake toward their way. Kirby increased his inhaling power, striving harder to get the shiny keys closer.

Pop!

In a split second, the keys were in Kirby's mouth. The puffball looked incredibly pleased with himself as he hurried back to Ike.

"What'd I tell you, Marth? C'mon little buddy, spit out the ke-" Ike's voice died away when he saw that Kirby had swallowed the keys.

"Puyo?" Kirby blinked in confusion as Ike stormed to a corner of the cell. He didn't understand why they were so upset. Ah well. At least he was a little full now. The puffball happily patted his belly and wandered back to his own corner.

"Falcon…PUNCH!"

The bars literally collapsed from the sheer force of the punch. Marth and Ike leaped to their feet, Kirby much slower in following them. The dust and smoke settled quickly, revealing an athletic man making his trademark entrance.

"C'mon! Out we go!" Captain Falcon smugly grinned, mockingly saluting them.

* * *

High on a cliff, there was a sweet lullaby pouring from the trees. It was so soothing, so peaceful that the Primids who had been intent on destroying the forest found themselves fast asleep, dreaming peaceful innocent dreams. The song continued, twisting and twining itself around the Subspace Army. One by one they all succumbed to the sweet melody, drifting into Dreamland.

Soon, all of the Subspace Army was slumbering. As if on signal, a strange creature, not unlike a balloon, floated down from the sky, a chuckle escaping him. Tabuu wasn't going to be anywhere near his home as far as he was concerned! He blew a raspberry at the napping troops and puffed back to the cliff, a haughty smile radiating from his face.

As soon as he lightened on the cliff though, he was greeted with a dirt-covered little man snoozing near his house. For a second, the balloon like creature puffed up angrily. How dare he try to steal from his home! As he approached the man though, he found that he was someone very familiar…that antennae, that suit…

The balloon creature glanced down, saw that the Primids were still sleeping, and twirled happily once. He grabbed the little man and dragged him into his modest little hut, humming happily to himself.

It was going to be a great day.


	10. Chapter Nine

**.:Chapter Nine:.**

"H-he was here a moment ago!" Toadsworth nervously adjusted his spectacles, clearing his throat several times. "He was right here, sitting on this staircase, head in his hands…"

Snake and Peach exchanged glances. It was likely that Luigi had run off somewhere, possibly to save his brother. Snake voiced their suspicions. "That plumber guy probably ran off to save his…uh…older plumber brother?"

"He wouldn't move an inch!" Toadsworth argued. "I urged him to come in, to talk to you, but he sat here, waiting for you…"

"Did he tell you anything?" Peach was staring at some dark clouds gathering in the horizon. "Before he…vanished?"

"No," Toadsworth glumly said. "I'm sorry, Princess, that I could not tell you more, but it seems you'll have to be on your own. Unless you would like me to accompany you-"

Peach quickly shook her head. "No, Toadsworth. I need you to stay behind in the castle to manage the affairs. I will be fine. Snake will be with me." At the mention of his name, Snake's head shot up. He had been studying the area for any possible trapdoors or secret passageways.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'll make sure you're safe." Snake muttered as he continued his search. Peach rolled her eyes in amusement. Toadsworth seemed much more nervous than before. "What's this?"

Peach and Toadsworth both snapped to attention. "What's what?" Peach curiously inquired.

Snake did not answer as he tugged on something, trying to yank it out of the ground. Peach and her advisor hurried over, just as the spy wrenched out a struggling turtle-like creature.

"Let me go!" The Paratroopa squealed, shielding its eyes. It was covered from dirt from head to toe. Dangling precariously from its snout was a pair of nerdy looking glasses. "I wasn't doing anything! I-I was just…hiding!"

"Yeah, right." Snake snapped. "And I bet you were digging a hole to China."

At that, the Paratroopa momentarily stopped its struggles and looked completely puzzled. "Wh-what's China?"

Snake sighed. "Never mind. Do you know this guy, Peach?"

"Girl!" The Paratroopa snapped, wings fluttering in brief anger. "Know the difference!" Then, abashed at her outburst, she buried her head in her hands.

"It's a Paratroopa," Peach knelt at its eye level, a frown on her face. "They work for Bowser. I wonder why this one was lurking around here…"

"I-I ran off!" The winged turtle tremulously admitted. She managed to gain some courage to look up to the trio. "I ran off when that…th-that…thing captured Bowser and that p-plumber man!" She raised a quavering hand to tilt her glasses right side up. "I-I was his secretary!"

"…Bowser has a secretary?" Toadsworth was baffled. "Is he a doctor of some sort?"

"N-No, but he needed _someone_ to o-organize his bills…"

"Never mind that," Peach signaled for Toadsworth to stop speaking. "Do you know where they were when you last saw them?"

The Paratroopa did not answer. She only shook her head, her eyes wide. Snake groaned. Why did everything have to be so to do? "C'mon, you can tell us." He tried to coax her out of her shy shell. Her eyes only widened even more.

"I-I can't tell you!" She burst into a flutter of sobs. "Bowser swore me into secrecy!" She suddenly retreated into her shell and began to spin away.

"Hey!" Snake pounced on the Paratroopa, not intent on losing what might be their only lead. "You aren't going anywhere until you spill the beans!"

In an answer, beans tumbled out of the shell. Peach hid her smile behind her hand as Snake stared at the green beans. "It seems like we'll have to try a different tactic," The princess lightly offered. "Allow Toadsworth to try…"

* * *

He groggily came to, light filtering from above. Where was he? All he remembered was finally managing to dig his way out of the tunnel and out into some sort of cliff. After that…he must have collapsed from exhaustion.

Maybe he was dead. The only thing he really remembered during the time of his unconsciousness was a pink balloon with huge, turquoise eyes. And as far as he knew, balloons did not have eyes. It made no sense…

Then again, nothing made sense anymore.

"Jiggly?"

He leaped to his feet, all cobwebs cleared from his head. His mysterious savior had just walked in, his stubby pink arms full of fruit. "Th-thank you," He managed to stammer out. Before he knew it, he was babbling like an idiot. "I really don't know how to thank you. I was…captured by my own Pikmin and barely made it out…I'm glad you found me…look, Tabuu's back…we need to find the others and…and…" He paused, taking in a deep breath. He felt his life support system beep. He reminded himself that he would need to tinker with the machine soon. "My name is Captain Olimar. And you are…?"

"Jigglypuff," The Pokemon shrugged and flatly said, "Jiggly, puff puff jiggly."

Olimar blinked, confused. "I'm sorry, I don't understand…"

Jigglypuff slapped himself, dropping several of the fruits at the same time. "Puff jiggly!" It might have been a sort of Pokemon curse going along the lines of 'damn it'. "Jigglypuff puff jiggly." He pointed at Olimar's helmet. The tiny man nervously cleared his throat.

"I can't take it off. Oxygen is poisonous to me…"

Jigglypuff was puzzled at that. He gestured at the fruit and made an eating motion. Olimar shifted uneasily.

"Well, I don't really want to discuss how I manage to eat. What's more important is finding the others so we can stop Tabuu."

"Puff jiggly! Jigglypuff jiggly puff." Jigglypuff muttered. He stomped angrily as he jumped out of the entrance. Olimar blinked. Did he say something wrong? "Jiggly!" Jigglypuff stuck his head into the hut and motioned for Olimar to come.

Olimar scrambled to his feet and tripped in the process, making the Balloon Pokemon roll his eyes in exasperation. "Sorry," Olimar quickly apologized. "But I really don't see why you're upset with the idea of finding the others. Could you explain why?" His question was answered as he left the darkness of the hut and came into the blinding light of the sun. Olimar squinted, trying to see through the hazy air. His eyes suddenly widened as he saw a very unwelcome sight.

"Jiggly," Jigglypuff simply said. There was no need to explain the huge mass of monsters outside, temporarily asleep.

"Oh." Olimar meekly said.

* * *

"Keep moving. C'mon!" Captain Falcon prodded them as they crawled through the slimy sewers. Kirby squirmed a bit while Ike and Marth were trying hard not to gag at the stench.

"Isn't there another way to escape?" Marth mumbled, wondering if that green slime in front of him was a creature or just an puddle. It shifted a bit and Marth took care to carefully avoid it.

"Without being detected? No." The bounty hunter peered through a ventilation vent before moving on. Ike spoke up.

"We need to pick up someone else from here…"

Captain Falcon's voice showed no worry as he answered, "Who?"

"Puyo…" Kirby stopped and made some frantic hand gestures. Marth was quick to translate.

"We need to get…an ally of ours. Sonic."

Captain Falcon regarded them emotionlessly before pushing aside some messy glop hanging in front of them. "All right then. Where is this Sonic guy?"

* * *

"Meta Knight!" R.O.B. jerked the warrior back, just as a blue blur dashed past them. Meta Knight was on his feet instantly, Galaxia raised. R.O.B. hurriedly checked his weaponry just as the mysterious blue thing charged at them once more. Meta Knight met it head on but found himself swinging at empty air as the blur maneuvered around him. R.O.B. fancied he heard the slapping of shoes across the pavement as he launched his gyro at their enemy.

The blur easily dodged it but fell face-first onto the ground. R.O.B. had attached a cable to the gyro, effectively tangling its feet. Meta Knight and R.O.B. hurried over to their mysterious attacker's side and found that it was a very familiar looking hedgehog…

"Sonic?" R.O.B. nodded his head. "We are glad to-"

The hedgehog kicked both of them squarely in the face and managed to wriggle out of his bonds. Seeing that they were briefly stunned, he charged at them once more as a deadly sphere. He struck so quickly that the two were down on the ground before they knew it.

Sonic stopped in front of them, a void look etched on his face. "That was too easy." The strange voice rose Meta Knight's suspicions. Before the swordsman could do anything, however, Sonic leaped into the air and dived at R.O.B. with a lethal kick.

The robot grabbed the hedgehog's foot and for a brief moment they were caught in a struggle. Steel and motors proved to be stronger, however, and Sonic was tossed against the wall. The hedgehog seemed stunned, and was even more so when Meta Knight abruptly warped behind him, his sword pressed against his neck.

"This is the game you're going to play?" Meta Knight felt himself remembering the times situations like this had happened to him.

"You won't kill this puny one in fear of harming him. Isn't that right?"

A strong kick sent Meta Knight soaring into the air. He managed to land back on his feet. His grip on Galaxia tightened and R.O.B. fancied he saw a hint of red in those eyes.

"You have taken control of Sonic's body." R.O.B. quietly said. "Through your logic, we will not attack him in fear of harming or possibly killing him." The robot for a moment seemed triumphant as he straightened up, his eyes crackling with energy as he prepared his attack. "You have made an error in your calculations."

The hedgehog began to back slowly away, as though realizing some mistake he had overlooked. "You are wrong."

R.O.B. did not answer as he fired his beam while Meta Knight darted forward at the same time, his sword's blade glistening in the dim light.

* * *

"_Let me get this straight. We're stuck in some warped type of Dreamland…"_

_The way the kid looked at Falco almost made him regret his snappy tone. "I-I don't think so." He looked at himself in confusion, waving his hand. There was some strange type of golden string attached to it. The string arched all the way up to the blackness above, attached to some unseen hand. He had tried to get it off, but it was simply too painful. _

_So there it stayed._

"_Look, Lucas. You're a PSI kid. Can't you do some sort of psychic power that will jolt us awake?" Falco grumbled._

"_I don't think I can." Lucas looked down. Falco looked down too and got an awful strange sensation that he was falling. Not a good feeling at all, especially when the ground looked like some deep abyss underneath you. "Let's walk around…m-maybe we can find a w-way out."_

"_Maybe," Falco muttered. He gazed across the endless nothingness, mumbling something to himself. "Wait! There's something over there. Maybe it's a door…" Ha. This wasn't a video game. What was he thinking? A door? Yeah, go toward the door and go through it onto the next level…_

"_Falco?" Lucas tugged at the avian's sleeve. "That something…scares me…"_

_Falco resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What did the kid want him to do? Act like his mom and soothe him? "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll lead the way and prove it to you, okay?" Falco strode with a confident air toward the mysterious object with Lucas reluctantly straggling behind him._

* * *

"They aren't getting any better." Red dryly said when he re-entered the room. "Either the time-release capsules aren't working or it's something else." Red's face was an almost comical mixture of pain and harshness as he looked at the group.

The cheeriness that had floated around the room was replaced by dread and worry. Lucario was the only one who did not react to the news. He only faced a corner, arms crossed, his eyes closed in concentration. Popo and Nana clung to the nearest thing, which happened to be Pit's toga, as if it was a magical item that could somehow cure Lucas and Falco's malady. The angel did not snap at them, but gently pushed them away.

"How serious is it?" Fox slowly asked.

Red shook his head. "They won't respond at all. They just…won't move. I tried everything to wake them up…"

"I will try to heal them then," Zelda somberly volunteered. "My magic might do what the medicine cannot."

Red took a deep breath, as though preparing himself for a hard blow. "Try then."

* * *

"_I-I don't feel like we belong here, Falco." Lucas stammered. He stumbled over his own foot in his anxiety. Falco only shrugged._

"_We're nearing it anyway. I don't see anything except…" His voice died away as he saw what was floating in front of them. Two limp bodies…_

_Lucas suddenly dashed forward, yelling, waving his arms. "Ness!"_

"_What the heck are you doing?!" Falco hissed, yanking the boy back. "We don't know if it's a trap-!"_

"_Lucas? Falco?" One of the figures stirred to life and Falco felt Lucas beginning to struggle against his grasp._

"_Keep your head level!" Falco snapped. "Hey-!"_

_Lucas had broke free of Falco's grasp and was standing in front of Ness, trying to get his friend down. "N-Ness! Hang o-on! I'm getting y-you down!"_

"_No!" Ness snapped to attention, an tone of fear in his voice that Lucas had never heard before. "Get out of here!"_

_Lucas was taken back. The younger boy timidly reached for Ness once more…_

"_Dangit! He told us to get out of here!" Falco dragged Lucas forcibly away, a fierce look on his face. "We have to go now!"_

"_We can't leave Ness!" Lucas weakly protested, trying to pull away. "We have…to g-get him down f-from there!"_

"_Forget it!"_

"_Ness!"_

"_Keep a level head, damn it!"_

"_Ness!"_

_Ness feebly smiled as they fled, just as he felt that familiar chill sweep over them. "You think they can get away, Ness?" Something lashed against his back. The boy bit back a cry of pain, his fists clenched now in hatred and agony._

_He could see Lucas's eyes widen as he saw Tabuu as Falco carried him across the desolate landscape. Ness dared to fire a PK Thunder at the golden strings attached to Lucas, trying to break his friend free. The strings tensed, as though sensing its somehow eminent doom. One string fell away._

"_Stop it!" Tabuu lashed his whip again, increasing Ness's pain by a tenfold. Ness somehow managed to ignore it as he fired another PK Thunder at the strings. He could hear Tabuu's curse as another string began to loosen._

_The whip whistled through the air again. Ness was silenced and Tabuu snarled, "I find your persistence…annoying. Keep it up and I might kill both the twerp and the bird." With that said, the enmity faded into the nothingness surrounding him._

_Nothing, not even a determined brat or group of heroes could stop him now.  
_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long delay DXX Anyway, to make up for it, this chapter is longer than the last ones o3o;;; I do hope you'll forgive me for delivering this chapter so late and enjoyed it! o3o Any feedback is welcomed 3


	11. Chapter Ten

**.:Chapter Ten:.**

Meta Knight's blade narrowly missed its target. The warrior swiftly turned, Galaxia raised, and attacked once more. He barely noticed R.O.B. attack with his Arm Rotor as he attempted to get a hold on the impossibly fast hedgehog.

Sonic side-stepped them once more and kicked R.O.B. straight in the face. The robot instantly raised his whirling arms and nearly smacked Sonic away. Sonic neatly dodged it and leaped into the air. Meta Knight wrapped his cloak tightly around him and disappeared. Confusion was apparent in Sonic's face as he quickly searched for his enemy. Suddenly, a _woosh_ was heard behind him. Sonic barely jumped out of the way, just as Meta Knight's sword stabbed the spot where he had been a second ago.

The moment he hit the ground he began to run.

R.O.B. and Meta Knight knew very well that they could not catch up to him. But they could slow him down…

R.O.B. fired lasers at the ceiling, his mechanical mind whirring like mad as he calculated the exact-

A huge portion of the ceiling collapsed, creating an efficient blockade in front of the escaping hedgehog. Sonic screeched to a halt. Meta Knight and R.O.B. closed in, ready to attack at a moment's notice. Sonic suddenly grinned and snapped his fingers.

The remainder of the ceiling burst apart as a huge figure tumbled in from above. Meta Knight and R.O.B. jumped back, surprised at this unexpected turn of events.

The new enemy reared up to its full height, and studied the two with its six eyes. As if suddenly deciding who the intruders were, Regigigas slammed its fist into the ground.

Shock waves rumbled through the earth, almost knocking the pair off their feet. They dared to look back for a brief second. Sonic was gone. There was a shrinking portal where he had been. Regigigas, seeing its opportunity, lumbered forward, its footsteps shaking the ground in its wake.

* * *

"Well, Bowser Junior was with them," Hic. "When they attacked us." Paratroopa, as the Paratroopa was aptly named, hiccupped as she took another swing from the bottle. Toadsworth had convinced her to take a drink from a rather strong bottle of whiskey. It had loosened her tongue incredibly and she was swaying a bit from her drunkenness. Snake muttered something to himself as Peach continued to question the secretary.

"Do you have any idea where we might find them?"

Paratroopa peered into the bottle with a drunken eye. "I can lead you there…hic." She waved a disoriented hand into the air. "Bowser wouldn't mind, no soiree…I'm not telling am I? Hic." Paratroopa giggled at nothing in particular, her glasses beginning to tilt awry once more. "I'm Bowser Junior's cousin, did I tell, hic, you that?"

"Right," Snake skeptically answered. "Why don't you just lead us over to where, uh, that turtle and plumber guy is?"

"Hic…sure…hic…thing…" Paratroopa giggled once more. "It's right over…hic…" She waved a disoriented hand at the eastern horizon. However, as she begun to get up, it soon became apparent that the whiskey was too much for the poor secretary to handle. She collapsed into a snoring heap, blissfully sleeping away. Toadsworth sighed.

"I hoped that would not happen. At least you know where to go now, Princess Toadstool."

Snake watched Paratroopa snore away and muttered, "Yeah, great. Let's go then, Peach, if we want to save that boyfriend of yours."

Peach blushed a bit. "Don't be silly Snake! Well, Toadsworth, we'll be going now. Be sure to keep everything running smoothly!"

"Can do, Princess Toadstool."

* * *

Jigglypuff rolled his eyes as he watched Olimar almost fall off the frail tree branch. How slow could this guy be? Why didn't he pluck anymore of those little Pikmin things to help him? "Jiggly!" The Pokemon snapped. He was getting irritated at their slow progress. Yes, the Captain wanted to go find the others and whatnot, but why couldn't he put more effort in keeping up?

"Sorry," Olimar finally managed to get back onto the branch. He looked down and felt his stomach drop. Jigglypuff puffed up in mild anger. The Captain noticed this and hastily leaped to Jigglypuff's branch. For a split second, Olimar teetered dangerously toward the ground below. Jigglypuff sprang to his feet, ready to grab the little man in case he did fall. There was no need to worry: Olimar regained his balance, though a bit shaken. Jigglypuff rolled his huge eyes. "I'm not quite used to…tree climbing."

"Jiggly puff jiggly!" Jigglypuff was already heading toward the next branch, having no patience for a slowpoke. Olimar stood there in surprise. He quickly regained his bearings as he leaped after the Pokemon.

"Jigglypuff, wait for…oh my god."

Olimar had clumsily landed on the next branch, almost falling off. That was not the reason for his gasp of surprise, however. Jigglypuff turned around, a sharp reprimand beginning to form, but died unspoken when he saw the giant in front of Olimar.

Swaying in the air, regarding the shaking little man with a golden eye, was Rayquaza.

* * *

"_Lucas, get a hold of yourself!"_

_They had outrun the mysterious enemy and were even more lost than before. Falco was shaking the PSI kid firmly, trying to get him to stop his crying. "Calm down, Lucas. Calm down! You aren't helping anybody by crying!"_

_Lucas's dry sobs slowly halted as he tried to steady himself, to regain a calm composure. But the sight of Ness hanging like that…_

_He broke down again, his tears practically gushing out now. Falco sighed. "Look, Lucas, everything will be all right if you calm down. There, that's better." The avian voiced his approval as Lucas took in a quivery breath. "We'll find a way through this…" The real question that concerned him was how to get out of here first, however. Falco was almost certain that all of this was some type of sick, demented illusion…_

_A gloved hand touched his shoulder. Falco jumped back, blaster ready, only to find that it was only Zelda. Lucas stared at the princess with his still teary eyes as though he had never seen her before. _

"_Looks like everyone is coming here, huh?"_

_Zelda looked a mite uncomfortable. "I've been here before…when I healed you back in that forest."_

_Falco raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Well, would you mind telling me how you got here?"_

"_I don't know." Zelda admitted. "I suppose it is because of the magic flowing through me into your bodies. It must create some type of bridge to this world and ours." The princess looked around her, an unruffled calm settling around her now._

"_Can you get us out then?"_

"_Yes, of course. But I think we must make some sort of physical contact in order for that to work. The moment I release my flow of magic, I will be pulled back along with whoever is holding onto me."_

_Falco gave a grunt. "You're sure knowledgeable in magic. Almost makes me too uneasy."_

_Zelda did not answer. She was bent over Lucas, gently brushing his tears away. "What happened to him?"_

"_N-Ness is out here." Lucas managed to say. "H-he was…" He stopped speaking and the tears sprang anew. Zelda gave a tired sigh and gently hugged him, stroking his head._

"_It'll be over soon," The princess murmured. "Don't worry."_

_Falco rolled his eyes. Needless to say, he felt like getting out of here as soon as possible. He was not comfortable dawdling around here at all…_

"_What is this?"_

_The avian glanced at the golden strings Zelda was referring to. "I have no clue. Ness was trying to get them off of Lucas, but I don't know what those do really."_

_Zelda gently touched one of the strings. It wiggled a bit, but other than that, it seemed to be just like puppet strings. "Odd. These seem familiar…"_

_Familiar? How so? Falco frowned, trying to remember…_

* * *

"Pika…" Pikachu stared at Samus, one of his ears twitching. Did she sense the strange things ahead? The electric rodent gave a small shiver and involuntarily walked faster. "Pikachu pi pika…"

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Pikachu." The bounty hunter reassured him. The old factory was emitting odd electrical waves by terra watts and she was determined to find out what was going on. Samus swiftly made her way across the old ruins, her laser charged and ready. Pikachu shook his head once before following her.

Pikachu had become what you might call…a pet to Samus. He faithfully followed the bounty hunter ever since she had freed him from a terrible fate from the Subspace Bomb Factory. The Pokemon was happy to lay down his life for Samus, but secretly hoped that will never happen…

"Pi-ka…" Pikachu stopped in front of an old furnace. He could have sworn he felt some heat flicker from the bellows. "Chu, pika pi!" Pikachu scurried around Samus, shivering once more. Samus scratched him behind the ears.

"There's nothing there, Pikachu. My suit detects no life…"

"Pika pi chu pikachu…"

"C'mon. The generator of the energy seems to be coming from that room…"

As they entered the next room, they were unaware that they had awakened a monster by trespassing on the factory grounds…

* * *


	12. Chapter Eleven

**.:Chapter Eleven:.**

"Oh my god." Olimar repeated, frozen in place. Rayquaza growled, happy to see that his intimidation worked. Jigglypuff would take none of this. He whipped out his pen-microphone and loudly demanded, "Jiggly puff puff!"

The dragon Legendary turned to face the little Balloon Pokemon, amusement in his eyes. What could this pest do to a mighty Pokemon like him? Rayquaza let out a blood-curling roar and lashed at Olimar's branch. The captain let out a small squeal as the branch instantly broke, sending him and the foliage speeding toward the ground. Jigglypuff dived at the little man, only to be knocked aside by Rayquaza's claw. The dragon roared once more, whipping his tail at everything.

Jigglypuff managed to float safely to the ground (being light had its advantages), just as Olimar crash-landed on the earth. "Puff jiggly!"

Rayquaza screeched in anger when he saw that they would not leave. They were in his territory! If they would not leave…they would be destroyed! He opened his maw to reveal the pulsing ball of energy forming there. Jigglypuff's huge eyes widened. Hyper Beam. Oh crap. Not good.

"Aw, you big lump! Pick on someone your own size!"

Rayquaza turned so swiftly that he knocked down several more trees and broke his Hyper Beam. The Legendary narrowed his eyes at the sight of an oversized penguin hefting a heavy looking hammer. He roared once more, trying to scare this one off too.

King Dedede was not impressed. "That's how you want it? Get a load of this then!" His hammer slammed into Rayquaza, sending the Pokemon slithering back a few feet. Rayquaza blinked, as though surprised at this odd show of strength. His puzzlement didn't last long, however, and primal rage overtook him once more. His eyes glowed and an explosion erupted right where Dedede was standing.

Jigglypuff took the chance to dash over to the dazed, but otherwise unharmed, Olimar. Rayquaza noticed this and let out a snarl in irritation. As he was about to slash the pair, however, Dedede suddenly landed right on his head, effectively pounding the Legendary to the ground. Rayquaza was _really_ mad now. He reared up to his full height and roared his lungs out. The air around them crackled with energy in response to his anger. The trio took a cautious step back.

* * *

"_Master Hand!" Falco snapped his fingers. "That's where those strings were from…and they…controlled him…" His voice drifted off as he realized what he had just said. Lucas sat up so fast that he almost bowled Zelda over._

"_Wh-what?" The boy's eyes were as wide as plates. He stared at the glowing strings attached to him and felt his heart lurch._

"_Don't worry," Zelda soothingly said. "We'll find a way to get rid of it…"_

"_You think it's that easy?" A maniacal laugh filled the air. From the shadows came a giant, floating hand, its fingers twitching spasmodically as though he could not control his own actions. "My own brother could not free himself from them! What makes you think that you can?" Crazy Hand lightened in front of them, shuddering like mad._

_Zelda and Falco jumped back, ready for a fight. The disembodied hand gave an odd choking sound that might have been a sigh. "I want to fight. I want to destroy all of you. I want…to break things for the fun of it. But I can't. I can't! My brother tells me no. And He tells me no. I cannot. I cannot!"_

_What? Confusion swarmed around the air. Crazy Hand suddenly jerked forward, a mad laugh erupting from him once more. The trio stumbled back, surprised. "Run away, little toys! Run away! You don't belong here, none of you do! Be gone! Be gone!" His voice rose into a crazy shriek and he clenched into a fist. He pounded the ground over and over again, his words becoming an insane chant. "Go! GO!"_

"_We'll be going now," Zelda's voice trembled slightly as she held out her hand to Falco. Falco barely knew what he was doing as he tightly gripped onto Zelda's arm. "Don't let go."_

_They were suddenly flying through the air, into the infinite blackness, just as Tabuu emerged in front of Crazy Hand…_

* * *

"Holy crap!"

Red fell off his chair as a ghastly scream filled the air. Link jumped to his feet, sword raised, with Pit following him.

Zelda stood up, shivering as though she had come out of a deep plunge. Falco sat up, rubbing his head. Lucas stayed where he was, his eyes wide with fear.

"Ow…" Red complained. He had hit his head against a cabinet in his surprise. "Glad to see you guys awake. Now, what the heck was that scream?"

"Crazy Hand." Zelda quietly answered. She closed her eyes, fatigued from her magic-using. "Tabuu found him."

"Crazy Hand?" Fox flipped his blaster once, twice. "Master Hand's brother? We haven't seen him around lately."

"Incorrect." Lucario had walked in, his paws glowing with aura. "Crazy Hand has been around, wrecking minor havoc. We haven't sensed him."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Pit pointed out.

"No." Lucario nodded toward the door. "And if I were you, I'd start moving right now. The Subspace Army is right at our doorstep…and they don't look like they're the welcoming committee."

* * *

"Aha! It should be around here…" Captain Falcon popped open the hatch and looked around him. A frown suddenly creased his face. "We might have taken a wrong turn though…" Nevertheless, the bounty hunter climbed out of manhole. "C'mon, up we go!"

"What do you mean?" Ike peered out of the sewer hole and muttered something to himself. "This isn't the right place. We should go back…" Seeing that Falcon wouldn't budge on the matter, however, he grumbled and climbed out.

"There's something odd about this place. Besides, it seems like we stumbled into something important."

"Puyo?" Kirby hopped out instantly, hoping that they had the luck to land in a kitchen.

Marth was the last to clamber out, covered from head to toe with grime and dirt. "This seems like a factory of some sorts."

"It most likely is." Captain Falcon agreed. "I sense there's something strange going around here though…down this hallway." He waited for the others to protest, but no word of objection came. Satisfied, he ran down the said hallway with the others following him…

* * *

"Pi, pikachu," Pikachu looked around him, his sixth sense screaming for him to get out of here. The electric rodent ignored it as he faithfully followed Samus through the odd room, his tail twitching. "Pi-ka..."

Despite the run-down appearance of the factory, this room seemed like it had been built only a month ago. Everything was spick and span and computers flickered on and off from the walls. Holograms of diagrams and strange creatures were projected from the middle of the room. One of them seemed to stand out to Pikachu. It looked like a mixture of a cat and an alien and was curled up in a fetal position. Pikachu stared at it until Samus called him over. The Pokemon leaped after Samus, all too aware that their voices and footsteps seemed louder in the gloom.

Samus frowned as she leaned over a huge computer, reading the information that flashed across the screen. This was a research facility! It was similar to the one that Tabuu had created too…

"Pika pika!"

Samus turned just in time to see a bizarre tentacle wrap around Pikachu and begin to drag him up into a huge vent. Samus instantly fired off several shots at the tentacle, forcing it to drop Pikachu. The Pokemon scrambled over to Samus and faced the unknown enemy, his cheeks sparking with electricity.

From the darkness leaped out a monochrome figure, leaping up and down while ringing a bell.

"Game and Watch?" Samus blinked in surprise. What was going on here? Was this a clone of Mr. Game and Watch or was it the real one, led to work for Tabuu?

Mr. Game and Watch suddenly transformed into an octopus once more and made his way toward the two once more. Pikachu let out a powerful bolt of lightning at him, only to see it absorbed by some unseen force. Samus fired her missiles at the octopus, managing to knock him back a bit. Game and Watch neared closer and closer, his tentacles whipping out at them…

Something ripped part of the tentacle off. Mr. Game and Watch shrunk back to his original form in shock, leaping back in confusion. The one who had eaten his tentacle was a certain pink puffball, happily swallowing his little snack.

Marth and Ike dashed in with Captain Falcon, swords raised, ready to fight. Mr. Game and Watch beeped once and waved what might have been a white flag of surrender. There was no use fighting if you were outnumbered…besides, he could always flee from Tabuu if it was discovered that he ditched his job…

* * *

There were several problems with powerful Legendaries. R.O.B. could rattle a list of them off right now if their lives weren't on the line.

Regigigas had been slow at first. Its attacks were easy to dodge. As the battle dragged on however, it soon became apparent that they were dealing with a major powerhouse. The Pokemon seemed to grow faster as time passed by and they weren't doing a great job at fending it off.

Regigigas suddenly whipped around and grabbed R.O.B. by the head and tossed him against the wall. The robot hit the stone with a sickening crack and fell to the floor, his sensors going wild. Meta Knight cautiously kept his distance, trying to see if there were any weaknesses in this goliath's armor. Regigigas punched the ground with such force that it sent huge shock waves rippling through the entire castle. Meta Knight took to the air, just as R.O.B. recovered to see a huge fist thrown at him. The robot barely dodged it. It smashed the wall he had been leaning on just a moment ago, crumbling it into dust. R.O.B. gave the robotic form of a gulp.

Meta Knight flew in, slashing at the Legendary's eyes. It stepped back, stomping its feet in pain. R.O.B. hurriedly charged his gyro, hoping that this would somehow tangle up the Legendary even further. Meta Knight swiftly turned and dove at it for another blow.

Unfortunately, Regigigas had recovered and swiped a huge hand at Meta Knight. It knocked the warrior to the ground, smashing him into the stone floor. R.O.B. angrily fired his Robo Beam at 

Regigigas. The laser irritated the giant more than anything else and it charged at R.O.B. The robot responded by firing his gyro.

The spinning top struck Regigigas in one of its jewel eyes, forcing it to pause in surprise. R.O.B. hurried to his fallen comrade's side, oblivious to the warning that his sensors were screaming out. Just as he reached Meta Knight, a shadow fell over him. Almost meekly, R.O.B. looked up to see a huge palm slam over them.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Nehehheh...no they aren't in the Subspace Bomb Factory 8D Game and Watch is pretty easy to manipulate since he has no sense of evil or good. I read that somewhere, but now I can't remember XD; Prepare for a betrayal on the next chapter! 8D;;; -Sucks at keeping secrets-


	13. Chapter Twelve

**.:Chapter Twelve:.**

Not again.

She stared at the all-too familiar small fingers and the symbols that pulsated on them. Why was this happening? Who could have done this to her…?

She closed her eyes. All she remembered was waking up like this. She had not sensed anything unusual. But how? How could she be this little monstrosity again? She sighed, leaned against the cool tree, and tried to think this out thoroughly.

Hadn't the Mirror been broken? Yet she had been mysteriously dragged out back into the world of Light. Then again, there were other ways, other bridges to travel between the two worlds…

"You are awake, I presume?"

She snapped to attention as a shadowed figure stepped out from the trees. Her eyes narrowed. This one had a strange… aura surrounding him. "And who might you be?"

"That is for you to know… later. Right now, there are more important matters to discuss."

"…Such as?" Her senses were on full alert. She shouldn't be talking to this person. Whatever he wanted to discuss was obviously dangerous. She remembered Zant, but shook the memory away.

"You knew the one known as Link, correct?"

She felt her heart leap. "What? What happened?" She demanded.

"He has been captured by a group of people, along with Zelda." The stranger showed no impression of caring.

Everything seemed to jerk to a stop. All the questions concerning the appearance of this stranger disappeared. Link was in danger and she had to save him!

"Where is he? Who captured him?"

The boy drew closer. She noticed that he was holding some photographs in his hand. "These people are the ones you seek," He fanned them out, "If you don't find them nearby, you'll find them in this town." He whipped out a map now and pointed at a rather small dot. "If I were you, I'd hurry," he coldly suggested as he tucked the items away.

She turned away, fury beginning to rise up in her. "You don't need to worry about that."

* * *

The plan had been to change into their disguises, split up, and regroup at the outskirts of the town. The Subspace Army was sure to suspect a large group and would be on the lookout. Fortunately, the Primids did not seem to be keen on raiding the entire town to search for them. They mainly patrolled the streets, 

peered into the windows of the buildings, and marched aimlessly in circles. Several tougher looking Primids guarded the city gates, inspecting anyone who came in or out.

Tabuu was obviously biding his time for _something_, but Link could not figure out what the Emissary was waiting for. Zelda kept her head bowed as she walked with him through the town, the ridiculously fancy cloak flapping behind her. The Hero of Time briefly went through the plan once more in his head.

He and Zelda were to find a way through the south gate as well as find out any possible news of the other heroes. Lucas and Red were smuggling the supplies out through the west gate and Fox and Falco were finding some means of transportation that could carry their huge group. Meanwhile, Popo and Nana were to simply wait in the town square and help Lucario and Pit be on the lookout for any suspicious activities. If there were, they were to send a message to the others via Link's fairy, Navi, or telepathy in Lucario's case. They would regroup on the outskirts at three 'o' clock sharp.

Yes, it was a simple plan. Link stopped at a bar and politely chatted with the bar keeper. His efforts got him some valuable information.

"I heard that old Luigi's gone missing," the fat man grumbled. "News leaks out fast about those sorts of things, you know that, kid? Mario and that Bowser guy disappeared too…at least that's what I heard." He gave a small laugh. "You know, Bowser's kid passed by here and told me that. He was tellin' me, 'My dad and that mustached plumber guy is in trouble and I'm gonna rescue them.' And the whole bar was laughing at him. Looked pretty darn mad, if you ask me. He also mentioned that Luigi can't be trusted. 'He's a low yellow-bellied mutt,' he went a tellin' us. 'You see him then you should kick his…' well, you get the picture."

Link thanked the bar keeper and hurriedly dragged Zelda out with him as he noticed the customers were starting to eye the princess slyly. Unfortunately, they had little news of the others. At least they had some sort of lead…

There was something that bothered the pair. Link could sense it, as did Zelda. There was a sort of a… tainted feeling… a feeling in the air that boded no good. Whatever it was, all hell was sure to break loose soon enough.

Three 'o clock suddenly seemed very far away…

* * *

"It's boring sitting around here," Nana bitterly complained. "It's not fair that the others think that we can't fight!"

Navi gave a tinkling sigh. "They are concerned for your safety."

"But Lucas is about the same age as us too, but he gets to go into the action!" Popo chimed in. The fairy gave a nervous ring.

"Yeah! Why can't we go?" Nana backed her brother up.

"Shh," Navi tried to soothe them. "We must keep our cover!"

The Ice Climbers hushed up at the fairy's reminder. They had been so carried away with their argument that they had almost forgotten their job. "Sorry, Navi," they both sheepishly apologized. The fairy only gave a brief tinkle.

"It's nothing to be…oh…" Navi fluttered back several feet, the moment she saw him. Popo and Nana looked at the fairy oddly.

"What? What did you see…?"

"Run!" Navi cried. "I'll get the others! It's Ganondorf!"

Ganondorf?

The Ice Climbers frantically turned around, searching for the mysterious villain when a strong punch smashed into the pair, bowling them over. Ganondorf darkly chuckled, amused by their efforts to escape. "You can't run, little children. There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide."

The Primids had formed a tight circle, their weapons and fists ready. Popo and Nana looked at each other in despair and they knew that they would have to fight their way out of this one…

"Hiya!"

Icebergs flew everywhere and the Ice Climbers were scrambling away. The Primids gave chase, firing arrows, rocks, anything they had on them to catch those pesky twins. Ganondorf looked around himself in satisfaction at the shocked townspeople. They would learn to fear. They would soon be cowering at his feet and serving his every whim…

"Oi! You! Back off!"

Ganondorf turned around almost too late to see an arrow fly through the air. He raised his hand and cast his dark magic to form a shield that would knock the arrow away. Much to his surprise, his shield didn't reflect the attack as he thought it would. He was forced to duck as the arrow shattered his shield. Pit shot three more arrows at the warlock, all which Ganondorf evaded.

"So those were holy arrows," Ganondorf mused to himself. "What do you want, boy?"

Pit glowered at him. "Leave the others alone."

"And what can you possibly do to harm–?" Ganondorf was cut short as the Ice Climbers had fired a chilling blast of ice at the warlock. They were shivering with fear, but they had a determined air around them. They were going to fight to their last breaths to buy time for the others to escape.

* * *

They had been tossing in the last supplies into the wagon when they received Navi's warning.

The fairy almost slammed into Red as she screeched to a halt in front of him. "Ganondorf has somehow found us!"

"Ganondorf what?" The Pokemon Trainer stared at her in confusion. Lucas blinked in confusion, wondering what the heck the fairy was talking about.

"The Primids have been alerted and are combing the streets for us!" Before Red could take the moment to ask her what she exactly meant, Navi took off.

The Pokemon Trainer dropped the last bag of supplies into the wagon, quickly sorting out his thoughts. If Ganondorf was here, then that meant…

"Lucas," Red tried to speak as calmly as he could. "We're going to have to find Fox and Falco. C'mon, get in the wagon."

The little boy wasted no time in obeying his friend. He clambered into the wagon and Red hastily checked the supplies over once more. Red leaped onto the wagon and gripped the reigns tightly. "Hup! Giddy up!"

The horses went into a brisk trot, sensing the urgency in their driver's voice. Red took a deep breath. Hopefully, the others were safe. As the two wove through the busy streets, trying their best to ignore the Primids, Red hoped that everything would turn out all right…

He suddenly felt the need to urge the horses to run faster.

* * *

"Fox, you might want to watch your back." Falco had his blaster aimed at him, a fierce look in his eyes.

Fox frowned at Falco. "What are you… holy!" Falco had fired, barely missing Fox. "What the heck was that for?"

"Get down!"

Fox barely had time to think as he was knocked to the ground by his comrade. A huge blast of dark energy scraped their heads. It struck the rock wall behind them, making it literally explode. Falco and Fox jumped to their feet, just as their attacker revealed herself.

The strange imp creature in front of them had a deadly gleam in her eyes as she raised a warning hand. Even though it was faint, they could see the dark magic flowing around it. "Where is Link?" she asked. Falco motioned for Fox to keep quiet. Whatever this imp wanted with Link, she didn't seem like she was going to do something good to their friend.

"Oi! Fox! Falco!"

Red and Lucas came dashing in on a wagon. The Pokemon Trainer jerked on the reigns, forcing the horses to a halt. The horses gave sharp whinnies of protest as they reared up, lashing their hooves at the air. The imp glared at the two and flicked a finger their way.

The wagon immediately overturned. Fox had enough of this. He aimed his blaster at the imp and fired away, but was startled when she disappeared into the earth.

"Where the heck did she go?" Falco backed up…

…And was met with a strong shock. The imp had somehow morphed into Falco's shadow and had fired a powerful bolt of magic at point-blank range. Falco fell to the ground and Fox cautiously stepped back. Red and Lucas managed to recover from the little accident but froze when they saw the strange spell caster. The imp narrowed her eyes.

"I am not going to ask you again: _Where is Link_?!"

"I don't think I'd tell you, lady," Fox answered. "You don't look very friendly as it is…"

He was cut off as she knocked him unconscious with an odd energy field. Lucas saw this and jumped back when he saw this. Who was she? What did she want?

"Go! Charizard!"

Charizard emerged from the Pokeball, roaring his lungs out. The little spell caster did not seem impressed as she fired another ray of dark magic. It was met head-on with an equally strong burst of fire. The moment the two attacks dissipated, Charizard charged forward recklessly, heedless of Red's orders. The imp merely broke the Pokémon's charge with a powerful shield.

"PK Thunder!"

The attack bounced off the shield harmlessly. The imp fixed her gaze on them, a sneer on her face. "Don't mess with me!" The world suddenly went dark, as though some unseen being threw a shadow over the sky.

Lucas swallowed. "I-I think we made her mad, Red…"

"No kidding, kiddo." Red snatched a Pokeball and shouted, "Go, Ivysaur, Squirtle!" There was no holding back. They would have to go all out offensive to defeat this strange spell caster…

* * *

The cloaked figure stood in front of the masses of computers, his arms folded as he watched from his screen the scenes of destruction that were unfolding. He showed no emotion as he witnessed the Subspace Army sweep across the land, consuming everything in their path. And now, the heroes were so close to their grasp! Once they were out of the way, they would be free to complete their plan.

He hesitated, wondering why he was working with Tabuu. The reasons were simple, so simple that he found it hard to believe.

He was tired of being unknown, tired of being eternally overshadowed. He was tired of being cast aside like he was nothing, tired of being treated as nobody.

But now, if the others could see him, they would finally recognize him. They would finally notice him and give him the recognition he deserved!

He glanced at a flashing screen. There was a message from his spy. He touched the hologram and waited for the video to load.

The pixels rearranged themselves into the familiar face.

"We are hiding out at a small town not far from the Subspace wave," the spy coolly recited. "It is located west of Onett…" He went on to recite the plans before the video blanked out. The cloaked figure smiled for the first time in months.

"He has done a good job. It's all up to him to lead them into the trap now." The cloaked figure gave a chuckle.

Soon. The time was coming soon.

* * *

"So what he's saying is that Tabuu hired him to guard this old dump?"

Mr. Game and Watch angrily beeped at Captain Falcon. Samus sighed. "It seems so. There's something valuable around here… or at least, it seems to be. Game and Watch claims that there's a creature held captive around here and a special experiment."

"We are going to free them, then?" Marth asked.

"Pi-ka," Pikachu gave a quick nod. He padded over to the doorway then back again, his head tilted cutely. Kirby was on his feet and hurried after Pikachu, curious to see if this little mouse thing had anything interesting to show. Pikachu only pointed at the floating hologram in front of them. Kirby stared at it for a long while before looking back at the Pokemon in confusion.

"What is that?" Ike walked over and squinted at the strange symbols flashing across the hologram. "What does that say, anyway?"

The others crowded around the floating screen. Mr. Game and Watch beeped loudly. Samus was quick to translate. "There should be a map around here somewhere that will show us the location of the two." The bounty hunter paused as she read the alien writing. "If I am correct, they should be on the lower levels. Let us go now."

* * *

The strange boy seemed like he had been from a video game. He appeared to be cell-shaded though… it was impossible, wasn't it? How could something from a video game come to life?

Those questions weren't answered as he sliced down the guards, aiming to break free from his cell. He was getting awful tired being experimented on. And life in the lab didn't compliment him either! He slashed at a rather fat sentry with his sword and tossed a colorful bomb at them.

… Is that cartoon smoke? Not possible…

Toon Link was, in all aspects, real and incredibly deadly. He stood up straight, surveyed his handiwork, and made his way to the other part of the lab.

There was one more thing to be done…

* * *

It was one of the mysteries in the world why heroes didn't take pipes for easy transportation. Snake could easily answer this now in one sentence.

"This… stinks."

Peach held her umbrella a bit higher as she looked at the agent in amusement. "Don't tell me that the smell is getting to you already! We still have a long way to go." The princess daintily floated above the pipes standing in their way, just out of reach of a lunging Piranha Plant that leaped out of the pipe.

There was another thing that bugged Snake. Why were there so many pipes after you go down one pipe? Wasn't one pipe enough? Apparently, it wasn't. Snake snuck around the pipes through the narrow strip of concrete that was barely visible behind it.

"I don't mind it, of course. I'm just saying… it stinks. Haven't people heard of maintenance?" Snake leaned against a protruding brick. Peach looked back and cleared her throat.

"You might want to stay away from that, Snake."

"What?"

Abruptly, the brick zipped back into the wall. Everything began to shake, and it was all they could do to keep on their feet.

"What is it with buttons and earthquakes?" Snake jumped to avoid a falling pipe. "Why can't they think up something original?"

As if to answer his question, a rather suspicious large pipe burst open to reveal what could have been a mutant form of the Piranha Plants. The only difference between the plants and this mutant was that he was standing on two legs, wore polka-dotted briefs, and carried two cages in its makeshift hands.

Inside the cages were two familiar people: Mario and Bowser.

"It's Petey Piranha!" Peach nervously exclaimed. Noticing Mario and Bowser, the princess fretfully twittered. "I'm getting a feeling of déjà vu here…"

Petey Piranha let out a fierce roar as he banged the cages together, daring them to come near. Snake crept closer to Peach and whispered, "Tell me, princess… er… what weapons work on boxer-wearing plants?"

* * *

He did not like the fact that he was saddled up and bridled. In fact, he was wondering why he was even agreeing to this. The dinosaur-like creature twisted his head back to look at Ness who was riding on him. There was something odd about him, but he couldn't place it. Maybe he got a haircut…

"Ho-eh-ha!" Yoshi suggested, turning his head slightly to the left. _This way, this way! Fresh apples are this way!_ He could use some food, Yoshi admitted to himself, after the long jog. But Ness wouldn't let him. The boy only shook his head and jerked the reigns to the right. Yoshi sighed as he obeyed. It would be bothersome to argue. Besides, he was curious what Ness was up to. Perhaps he was taking him to somewhere interesting. Why else would he take all the trouble to find him? The dinosaur, at first, was reluctant to leave his home. After a few minutes of coaxing, Yoshi finally agreed to be the boy's mount. Yoshi gave a small yawn as they passed a worn sign. There was nothing to see. Nothing to see except a small town on the horizon. And what interesting thing could possibly be there?

"We are here," Ness whispered. Yoshi instantly came to a halt and looked around. Here? Where was here? _What_ was here?

The boy dismounted and halted in mid-step, as though he had frozen. Yoshi looked at him inquisitively as Ness stepped back, shaking his head. Did he have a headache or something? It seemed like it the way he clutched his head.

"Yoshi?" Yoshi asked. "Hup, hup…"

"What is going on, Tabuu?"

Yoshi's head jerked up at the sound of the new voice. Stepping from behind a large boulder was an odd, jackal-like creature. Yoshi suddenly remembered that it was Lucario. Now what could Lucario and Ness be doing out here…? And why did Lucario call Ness 'Tabuu'? Surely the little boy wasn't Tabuu! He didn't look like Tabuu to him! "Yoshi yoshi?"

"Are you having trouble keeping control of your own puppets?" Lucario coldly stated.

At that, Ness stepped back, struggling to speak. "Y-you…Lucario…how can…?" The Pokemon's expression revealed nothing.

"I do not care for the others, nor do I feel any responsibility for them. They have never done anything for me." His tone was uninterested, as though they were discussing a particularly dull subject. "You have offered me something that is far more of value than the others have; hence the reason why I am here."

At that moment, Yoshi noted, Ness stopped acting strangely and stood up once more, his features smooth and emotionless. "I apologize for that little… incident. He thinks he can overpower me. Everything is proceeding as planned?"

"Exactly like you have planned," Lucario answered calmly. "Are you so concerned about my loyalty that you will personally drop by to check on me?"

Ness gave a bitter smile. "Yes… but if you manage to stick to the plan to the end, I will see that you will be well rewarded."

Lucario looked at the small town. His paws clenched. "It shall be done then…"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much, BabyCharmander, for Beta Reading my crazy story XD I appreciate it greatly 33


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**.:Chapter Thirteen:.**

Toon Link crept through the corridors, staying the best he could to the shadows. It was very dangerous here, and being caught meant being confined in another cage. The cartoon hero scowled at the thought. He was going to start a new life of freedom now, once he freed the other 'experiment'. Tabuu wasn't going to test strange chemicals on him anymore! Toon Link hesitated at a fork in the hall. Which way? He closed his eyes, trying to remember.

Voices echoed from the left. He dared to creep toward the left path to listen in. Two guards, silhouetted by the eerie, unnatural light, were smack dab in the middle of the hallway, chatting casually. Conveniently, there were several crates that he could hide behind. Toon Link ducked behind an overly large crate, his heart pounding. Did they see him? He froze, sword ready, waiting for the dreaded footsteps.

The footsteps did not come. Toon Link relaxed and peered over the crate, listening closely to the guards' conversation. He noticed a huge tank embedded in the wall, filled to the brim with some odd, green liquid. A strange, cat-like creature floated in the tank, curled up in a fetal position. Wires were hooked everywhere on it, and often times, it would stir, as if struggling to wake up from a deep dream. Toon Link smiled. He had chosen the correct path…

"So the little boy escaped?"

"From the others' reports, yes. But it is nothing to be concerned about. If I am correct, he won't even make it out of the inner labs."

The second guard laughed. "Do you suppose he's really that weak?"

The first guard took a drag on his cigar. The foul smoke almost made the cartoon hero gag. "If he could've broken out, he would've done it a long time ago. Instead, he's been staying here for…what? Almost a year?"

"Not even close. It's only been six months,"

"Whatever. But you get my drift,"

Toon Link was stung by the words. Did they think that he wasn't much of a threat? How insulting! He resisted the urge to suddenly leap at them and teach them how dangerous he could be.

"Well, I suppose I'll be heading back now. You'd best keep an eye out for that little critter,"

"Of course,"

Toon Link tensed, his grip on his sword tightened. Oh no. He was about to be found, when he was so close to his goal! He looked frantically around, searching for somewhere to hide. Too late.

"And what do we have here?" A beefy hand wrapped around his neck before he could react. Toon Link kicked as hard as he could at the man, and wildly slashed his sword at his tormentor. The man only laughed. "Look, Rick! He doesn't have any sense to head for the front door!"

The mocking laughter only made the cartoon hero angrier. "Don't take me lightly!" Toon Link snapped. "I can fight as well as anybody!"

The guards laughed. "We're real scared, kid," the first guard grinned as he raised the little boy to his eye level. "I'll be getting a promotion for this."

Toon Link responded by stabbing him in the eye with his sword.

The man dropped him, cursing in pain. Toon Link took the opportunity to dash over to the tank, sliding easily past the other guard. He hastily reached for a bomb, all thoughts focused on freeing the creature inside. Suddenly, he was yanked back and thrown to the ground. His sword went sailing into the air and landed just out of his grasp. Toon Link began to reach for his sword when a foot stomped on his hand. The boy tried in vain to jerk his hand away, but found it useless.

"Stupid little kid," the guard snarled. "You aren't going anywhere now!" The second guard was communicating through a walkie-talkie in a breathless voice about their capture. Toon Link's free hand made its way to his belt. The man pinned the cartoon hero's hand down instantly, just as he was about to take out his boomerang.

Toon Link desperately looked at the tank, silently imploring the creature inside to awaken. His thoughts seemed to have been heard as one of the creature's luminous eyes slowly cracked open. "Help me!" Toon Link cried. Before he continue, the man slugged him in the face, cutting off his plea for help.

The creature seemed infuriated at this. It raised its hand and an eerie glow began to surround him. Seconds later, the glass shattered, sending the emerald liquid spilling over the floor. The guard turned around too late and he was sent flying into the wall, effectively knocking him unconscious.

The other guard, seeing that the creature had escaped, fled down the hallways, screaming for help. Toon Link sat up, rubbing the bruise on his cheek. Upon seeing that the creature was free, though, he smiled. "Mewtwo! You really do care!"

The Legendary stared at Toon Link, his voice barely showing his emotions. "Don't get sentimental with me. I was simply returning the favor." Mewtwo resisted the strong temptation to smile as the little hero held onto his hand, using it to pull himself up.

"Right," Toon Link snatched up his sword. "Let's get out of here! I want to see what the outside world is like!"

* * *

"Puff jiggly! Jiggly puff jiggly jiggly!"

"I'm trying to run!" Olimar tripped over his own feet. King Dedede wasted no time and scooped him up. For once, Olimar wished that he had never left his home planet.

"He's gainin'!" Dedede said, "Split up!"

Jigglypuff leaped to the bushes while Dedede, with Olimar still in tow, continued to run straight ahead. Rayquaza's attacks blasted dangerously close to them again and again, knocking huge clods of earth into the air.

It's funny, Olimar thought, that none of the Legendary's attacks seemed to be hitting them…

A particularly nasty attack found its mark. Olimar and King Dedede were knocked down by the shockwaves of the attack. Both of them landed head-first into a muddy ditch. Olimar swallowed. Rayquaza, certain that victory was within his grasp, let out a victory cry as he dove forward to finish them off.

He was met with an unexpectedly huge Jigglypuff. The Balloon Pokemon knocked him back, letting out a defiant 'Jiggly!' as he did so.

Rayquaza rose back up, growling at his stronger opponent. Even if this intruder had grown bigger, it couldn't be a match to his power! The two titans warily eyed each other, trying to anticipate their opponent's moves. Jigglypuff moved first. He tackled the Legendary, kicking and punching every bit of skin he could find. Rayquaza roared and violently lashed back and forth. As Jigglypuff threw another punch at him, Rayquaza bit down hard on his adversary's hand.

Jigglypuff let out a squeal and kicked savagely at Rayquaza's face. The Legendary kept a firm grip, unwilling to let go. Trees all around them fell like flies. Olimar scrunched himself as small as he could; praying fervently that nothing would fall on them.

And then the captain realized something important: King Dedede was gone. Olimar forced himself to sit up and look around for the king. Where had he... oh no. Dedede was behind Rayquaza, his hammer aloft.

Didn't he know that he could possibly be squashed? It was most likely that he knew and possibly didn't care. Olimar suddenly felt very ashamed of himself. He could be helping, but… he hung his head. Without his Pikmin, he was nothing. Tabuu had taken away his one and only way of fighting and defending.

What could he do?

* * *

"Listen here, you ape!" Bowser Junior waved his paintbrush menacingly. "I don't care if you think I'm going to steal your damn bananas! Just move the heck out of my way!"

Diddy Kong refused to budge. The monkey crossed his arms and chattered angrily.

"I don't care!" Bowser Junior shouted. "I need to rescue my old man, so move your furry butt out of my face!"

Bowser Junior had been very unfortunate during his travel to have stumbled into Donkey and Diddy Kong's home. Diddy Kong stood firmly in the way, convinced that Junior was going to steal their storage of bananas. There was no way to go around him: Bowser Junior knew he would be lost if he strayed from the worn, and only, path. So he gritted his teeth and snapped, "Move it!"

Diddy Kong had enough of arguing. He took out his peanut shotgun and took dead aim at Bowser Junior.

"Damn it!" The paintbrush flashed across the air and, before Diddy Kong knew it, he was on the ground, entwined by some strange gooey mess. "That should teach you!" Bowser Junior growled. Diddy Kong shrilly cursed the young Koopa prince, trying in vain to break out of his bonds. "Shut up!"

A Tarzan cry split through the thick jungle trees. Bowser Junior knew he was extremely screwed when a muscular ape landed in front of him, cracking his oversized knuckles. Donkey Kong eyed him with extreme disgust as he hooted out some unintelligible words. Bowser Junior raised his paintbrush.

"I'm not afraid of you!" He boldly shouted. "And if I were you, I'd move out of my way! All you think about is your friggin' stupid bananas! It's different for me!" For a split second, the two Kongs thought they heard his voice crack. There was no more time to ponder on the matter as Bowser Junior swiped at Donkey Kong and sent disgusting gunk flying all over the place.

Donkey Kong slipped in the slime face-first. The ape rose up, angered now, and aimed a punch at Bowser Junior. The small Koopa prince easily dodged the attack and made a break for the path. He should have known that it wouldn't have been so easy.

A blue blur kicked him back a good yard and succeeded in stunning him. Sonic the Hedgehog noted the surprise in their faces and grinned. "Glad to see me? I thought so…"

* * *

Another rainy day, another dreary job.

The swordsman lifted his head toward the sky, his gloved hand fingering his sword's sheathe. Ever since that strange, purple cloud had come, there had been strange reports from all over the land. Of course he would care about it. If he didn't care, then he wouldn't be exactly fit for his position now would he?

Roy looked at the small town in front of him and frowned. There was something wrong. All the gates were barred off, and he fancied he heard screams…

He disliked fighting. How ironic was that? He was a warrior who hated to see bloodshed. Roy found little humor in it, however, as he made his way toward the town.

"You aren't going there."

Roy turned just in time to see a lightning bolt headed toward him. He dodged it just in time. Roy stared at his opponent, or rather, opponents. A dinosaur and a little boy? This was very peculiar… "I don't want to hurt you," Roy warned. "Go back home–!" He was cut off as he was forced to dodge Yoshi's sticky tongue. The lord held back. He was not going to hurt these two unless they seriously meant to harm him.

"There is nothing to see there," Ness intoned. "I suggest that you turn around before things get really nasty."

"That's not much of a choice, is it?" Roy answered. He didn't wait for the answer. He dashed down the path, ignoring the attacks that besieged him from behind.

Whatever was in that little town was important, that was for sure. There wasn't nothing there, and there was someone who wanted to keep him out…

* * *

Midna floated back, rage flaring so brightly in her eyes that it seemed to light the air around her. The three Pokemon spread out, surrounding the imp, ready to attack at their Trainer's command. Lucas uneasily readied himself, lifting up a finger, showering PSI sparks from the tip.

"Squirtle squir squir!" Squirtle wrinkled his tiny nose at Midna. **Dang, man, I never thought I'd say this, but she looks uglier than you, Charizard!**

Charizard merely growled in response.

"PK Thunder!"

Midna simply slid back into a shadow and easily avoided the attack. Red spun around, just in time to see the imp fire a blast of magic at him. The Pokemon Trainer jumped out of the way, and shouted, "Lucas, now!"

The little boy leaped at Midna, a stick clutched in his grasp. He was going to hit her with a stick? Didn't he know better?

Just as Midna cast the shield, Lucas rolled to the side and cast a powerful PK Freeze. It hit the surprised Midna head-on, freezing her in midair. She cursed silently at her stupidity and watched as Red's Pokemon assembled for a final attack. So they thought she was finished?

"Triple Finish!" In unity, the Pokemon let loose their most powerful moves. The three elements mingled and merged with each other, forming a huge ray of water, fire, and light that sped toward Midna, its pure power deeply gouging the earth.

The attack hit nothing but trees.

Drained from their attack, the three Pokemon fought to stay on their feet, panting in exhaustion. Red knew that they would not last much longer if kept them out. The Pokemon Trainer indecisively reached for his Pokeballs. Charizard noticed and roared angrily. The dragon was not going to give up fighting, protecting them! Ivysaur and Squirtle were both equally determined and backed Charizard up, forcing themselves to proudly stand straight. "Ivy, ivy saur, ivy," Ivysaur panted. **We'll be fine. We can fight a little longer…**

Midna leaped from nowhere and grabbed Squirtle from behind. The turtle Pokemon let out a surprised squeal and struggled to get away, flailing and squirting feeble bursts of water into the imp's face. Ivysaur lashed at her with his vines, but found that they were knocked away by her shield. Charizard ripped out a huge piece of earth, ready to heave it at Midna. She held up Squirtle, warning him to stay back.

Red had enough. The Pokemon Trainer attempted to tackle Midna, desperate to free Squirtle. Midna whirled around and easily pushed him back. "Put Squirtle down!" Red snapped. "I thought you wanted Link!"

Lucas realized his friend's intention and hastily said, "Red, don't tell her!"

"Tell me what?" Midna twirled Squirtle around with her powers, making the poor Pokemon nauseous. There was a faint glimmer in her eyes that Lucas and Red recognized as she leaned forward.

"Squirtle turtle squir!" **Man, you tell her and it'll be like betrayal!** Squirtle vehemently said. He was spun around once more and he shut his mouth.

"Well, what were you going to tell me?" Midna demanded.

Red took a deep breath and spoke so fast that his words blurred into one another. "Link is at Onett, just outside of the Subspace area." Lucas held back a sigh of relief. Midna's eyes narrowed.

"You lie," she coldly said.

Squirtle suddenly went spinning toward the sky, and would have probably gone out of sight if Red had not zapped the poor Pokemon back into his Pokeball. Lucas fired another PSI attack at Midna, only to see it absorbed into her hand.

"Consider this," Midna flung Lucas's attack behind her, shattering several trees in the process. "I don't care who the heck you are. All I care about is finding Link. It doesn't matter what risks and sacrifices I need to take. And if you stand in my way, you'll die by my hand. I'll promise you that!"

* * *

Ganondorf had the air of an experienced fighter around him. His sharp eyes picked up and anticipated their every move, and he seemed to know all their attacks thoroughly in an unbelievably small space of time. He blocked every assault, hit them exactly at their weak points, and did it all with a fluid casualness.

Pit kept a good distance away, playing it safe, trying to figure out an opening in Ganondorf's armor. The angel shot several more arrows at Ganondorf's way, only to see the Primids take the blows. Pit scowled. Curse it; he was using the Primids as a living shield against his arrows!

Popo and Nana both leaped at the warlock, attempting to slam him with their hammers. He merely kicked them back and sent them tumbling straight into the clutches of the Primids. The Ice Climbers beat back the monsters valiantly. Two bird-like creatures swooped down, claws outstretched, forcing Popo and Nana to shield themselves. They let out a triumphant caw as they snatched their hammers away, staggering a little from the weight of the weapons.

Pit began to run toward them when Ganondorf barred his way. "You want to save your friends?" Ganondorf cruelly smiled. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." He let out a blood-curling yell as he lunged at Pit, ready to punch him.

Pit parried with his swords. The force of the punch, however, was so great that the angel stumbled back.

Oh crap. He was open. Wide open.

Ganondorf knew it. The warlock whipped out his sword and stabbed forward…

… And was met with an equally strong sword. Link had arrived on the scene just in time, having rushed to his comrades' aid the moment he had gotten the news. Ganondorf snarled at his nemesis and pushed harder, intent on knocking Link off his guard. The Hero of Time steadily kept his ground, matching Ganondorf's huge strength with his own.

"We're leaving now," a voice breathed in Pit's ear.

Pit jumped in surprise as he faced the whisperer. The stranger's face was wrapped up tightly in cloth, her golden hair tied up in a tight ponytail. But the familiar spark in those scarlet eyes would have made Pit grin in embarrassment at his astonishment. There was no time to smile, however. They were in a battlefield, for crying out loud! "Zelda, we can't leave without Popo and Nana," He fiercely said.

"Call me Sheik when I'm in this form," she simply answered. "Where are they?"

_There's no need to worry about them,_ Lucario's telepathy suddenly burst into their minds, startling them. _I have taken them away to a safe place. Don't worry. We shall regroup at the northern outskirts of town. I suggest that you retreat for now…_

Retreat? Retreat again? Pit looked around for Lucario, but couldn't see the Pokemon. They couldn't keep running away like this!

"We aren't going to run away!" Pit snapped. "We're going to stay and fight!"

_That is an unwise decision–_

"Help!"

Sheik and Pit looked back, just in time to see a gloved hand waving furiously. Popo. In a split second, Pit had made his decision. He flew after the Ice Climber, separating his bow into two swords.

_Rash, aren't we?_ Lucario's odd words sent a shiver down Sheik's spine. There was something very wrong here…

She reluctantly began to chase Pit.

* * *

They were being followed.

'They' being the two bounty hunters, the two swordsmen, the pink puffball and the pesky little rodent. He was invisible to them as he stalked them, his fingers twitching in pain now and then. Tabuu had given him quite a rough beating before finally letting him go, on orders to capture the large group.

But no. It wasn't going to be easy as that. Pain wasn't enough to make him bend to that damned, power-hungry hog! He had tortured his brother, that was true, and it had driven him out of his madness. Yes, he was going to have to, though he loathed admitting it, helping those annoying little heroes who have more than often fought against them.

It was the only way. After that… well, they wouldn't argue about the treatment they would get. After all, they deserved it.

Until then, he would help them from the shadows…

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the long delay. Apologies to BabyCharmander for not waiting. I am rather... impatient, I must confess. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**.:Chapter Fourteen:.**

Game and Watch was barely visible in the dark, cluttered hallway as he carefully surveyed the area for any guards or monsters. All clear. Game and Watch let out a whistling beep as he began to leave the room. His foot stepped on something. Curious, he leaned forward and picked up a rather old looking computer. Now what was this doing here… ?

If he wanted to see what this computer had to say, he had better do it quickly. The group was waiting for his signal to tell them that the coast was clear. Mr. Game and Watch switched the computer on and watched.

Files. Countless files about the experiments held up in this lab. The monochrome hero skimmed across the electronic print and something sparked in his mind. Why did those people come here? What did they exactly want with the lab? When he got up, his mind was made up. Whatever they wanted with the lab and its contents was probably going to result in something bad. Maybe that was why Tabuu had put him here, to guard the experiment from those people.

Mr. Game and Watch tic-tacked forward, his footsteps sounding louder than usual. He could see the puzzlement in their faces. He stood there, arms crossed, his foot tapping.

"Pika pikachu?" Pikachu tilted his head at the monochrome hero.

"What's wrong?" Marth cautiously looked behind him. Game and Watch angrily beeped in reply and ran off into the winding hallways.

"Puyo!"

Before the others could react, Kirby was chasing after Game and Watch. Pikachu looked up at Samus before taking off after the pair. Before long, the entire group was rushing after the runaways. They were off to a very, very bad start…

* * *

"Wow, Mewtwo! Look at the sky!" Toon Link tugged the Legendary's arm, excited at the setting sun. The blanket of gold and red took the cartoon hero's breath away. "I never thought it would be that pretty! What was it called again, Mewtwo?"

"A sunset," Mewtwo simply answered.

"A sunset…" Toon Link repeated, enjoying the sound of the word. "Why don't they make sunsets in the lab, Mewtwo? Do they hate beautiful things?"

"You can't exactly make sunsets in a lab."

"Can't they find out how to?"

Mewtwo risked a small smile. "If they wanted to, I suppose."

"I'm glad you took us here," Toon Link leaned forward, his arms flailing comically to maintain his balance. "Whoa! Mewtwo! There's someone down there!"

"What?" Mewtwo looked peered down from the cliff and frowned. Toon Link was almost right. There were two people down there, lying in the dust. "Follow me." Mewtwo jumped down, using his psychic powers to float. Toon Link was beside him, held up by the same power that was holding up Mewtwo. The two lightly landed on their feet next to the strangers.

One of them was a robot. He seemed beaten up pretty bad, and Mewtwo could see that one of his arms was almost ripped off. The other was a small, round creature with a mask, clutching a spiked sword, a dark cloak wrapped around him.

Toon Link reached out to wake them up but was met by a strong shock. "They put a barrier up, Mewtwo." The cartoon hero frowned and struck at it with his sword. His sword bounced back.

Mewtwo nodded. There was no asking who 'they' were. Of course it would be Tabuu and his dirty henchmen. The Legendary silently searched the invisible barrier, probing it for weakness. Toon Link was pacing around the two, tapping his sword gently against the barricade.

"Strike your sword there, Toon Link," Mewtwo suddenly said after a long silence. Toon Link leaped forward eagerly, brandishing his sword wildly in front of him.

A direct hit! Toon Link found himself tumbling through the dust a second later as the barrier broke with an ear-splitting shatter. The robot suddenly came to life. Its eyes flashed green for a brief moment before settling back into black.

"Meta Knight?" R.O.B. instantly asked.

"Is that your friend over there?" Toon Link was suddenly appeared next to R.O.B. and was gently prodding the robot's broken arm. "Does it hurt?"

R.O.B. blinked at the cartoon hero. "I suppose. Where am I?"

"We don't quite know, either," Mewtwo dryly answered. "Would you mind explaining how you got here?"

Another smash sounded through the still air. Toon Link had destroyed Meta Knight's prison. R.O.B. was instantly by the stunned warrior's side, using his good arm to help hold him up. "You have not sustained major injuries?"

It took a moment for Meta Knight to respond. "I'm fine," he got to his feet and regarded the other two a bit suspiciously. "Thank you for freeing us. We are grateful." He gave a small bow. "R.O.B., we must go now. It won't be long before Tabuu discovers that we're free."

"That's funny," Toon Link said. "We just escaped from Tabuu! Why don't we team up?"

"Toon Link…" Mewtwo lightly warned. He did not like the idea of teaming up with these strangers. They would do fine without them, after all. Besides, he saw no gain in the idea.

"But Da– I mean, Mewtwo! C'mon! Please?"

Mewtwo instinctively twitched. Did Toon Link almost call him 'Dad'? "Where are you heading?" The Legendary grudgingly asked R.O.B. and Meta Knight.

"We're trying to find out where our comrades might have gone," R.O.B. informed him. "So we will be heading…" The robot paused to gather his coordinates. "West."

"Then we will come with you," Mewtwo replied. "Won't we, Toon Link?"

Toon Link's grin was so wide that it seemed like it would split his head. "Yeah!"

* * *

Snake dived to the left, hoping to get behind Petey to surprise him. Petey lashed out with the cages in retaliation. The agent narrowly slid past them, just as Petey swung once more.

Snake dodged the attack and fumbled for a grenade while Petey bashed the cages together and roared, showing off his immense power. The grenade sailed through the air and landed at Petey's feet.

The explosion knocked the giant plant monster off balance. Desperately, Petey flailed like mad, trying to regain his footing. He fell to the ground with a huge crash.

Bowser tugged at the bars once more, grunting as he tried to pull the cage apart. Petey suddenly swung back up to his feet, and the Koopa King was tossed back. "My head!" Bowser complained. Mario clung to the bars tightly, knowing it was useless to try to break out. These weren't ordinary cages, after all!

"Peach!" the plumber shouted over the din. "Watch-a out!"

The princess scrambled away from Petey's stomp just in time. Petey growled in annoyance and shook the cages fiercely. Peach tugged something out of the ground and threw it with surprising force. Petey whacked the turnip away with Bowser's cage, sending it crashing through the wall.

A missile struck Petey from behind. The Piranha whirled around to see… a cardboard box? Petey was puzzled for a split second, giving Peach the opportunity to whack him hard over the head with her umbrella. She reopened her umbrella and floated daintily down.

Petey swatted at her in annoyance, just as Snake fired another missile at the angered monster. Petey was ready this time. He jumped over the missile and landed right on top of Snake. Peach stifled a gasp. "Snake!"

"Damn!" Snake swore. Petey had landed directly on his legs. Petey ghoulishly grinned and swung the cages once more…

* * *

Yoshi was scared.

Was it even possible for the fun-loving dinosaur to be scared? But he _was_ sacred. Yoshi was scared of the strange noises coming from the town. He was scared of the ominous red cloud gathering in the distance. But most of all, he was scared of the little kid riding on his back.

Why would he be scared of Ness? Ness wasn't scary at all! But something in the back of his mind told him to be scared, to run away from Ness. Yoshi nervously looked behind him. They were chasing after that odd swordsman now. Something told Yoshi to ask why they were chasing him. What did the swordsman do? All he wanted to do was to visit the town. Yoshi swallowed his questions and focused on the path before him.

"Faster," Ness whispered. Yoshi nearly jumped. Faster? They were already going fast enough! "Faster!" Ness repeated, much more sharply now. Yoshi lowered his head and ran faster. Everything became a colored blur except for the swordsman running in front of them. The reins tugged upward and Yoshi leaped.

They landed in front of him. The swordsman almost crashed into them. Yoshi noticed his slight hesitation as he reached for his sword. This was _really_ confusing now. The swordsman didn't want to fight them, so why were they hunting him down like this?

"_I don't want to hurt you."_

Wasn't that what the swordsman had said? Yoshi looked at Ness, who was firing PSI attacks at the swordsman. The warrior swiftly dodged the attacks, and, very reluctantly, drew his sword. For once, Yoshi was completely confused and scared. Who was he fighting with? What was he fighting for? Who was the real villain here?

"Attack him!" Ness ordered. Yoshi hesitated. Nothing seemed clear anymore. The swordsman seemed to see Yoshi's uncertainty. He motioned for Yoshi to help him, but Yoshi shook his head. At who, he could not tell. Whoever it was aimed at, it seemed to make Ness angry. The boy sent a powerful lightning bolt at his way. Yoshi yelped in fear and tried to scramble away, though he knew he could not dodge it…

… And the swordsman was in front of him, using his sword to deflect the lightning. Yoshi blinked in surprise. The swordsman was… helping him?

"Run, if you want," the swordsman muttered. "I won't blame you."

Yoshi straightened up, taking courage from this stranger. "Yoshi, hup hup Yoshi!" _I'm not running away!_ As Yoshi took a battle pose, he noticed the swordsman's faint smile. Yes, he knew what was right now. This swordsman was not his enemy. Hopefully, they could take down Ness quickly…

* * *

Where was he taking them?

The Ice Climbers shook the bars of their prison, trying in vain to break out. "Let us out, Lucario!" Nana demanded.

Lucario did not answer. He stood in front of the ship, waiting for the others to come. Popo and Nana looked at each other hopelessly. He suddenly turned around and walked up to them. "I would be quiet, if I were in you. You wouldn't want your friends to be hurt, would you?"

"They're your friends too, Lucario!" Popo shouted.

A cold glare was all they received. "I have no friends. You have never thought me as one, correct?"

"That's not true! You _are_ our friend…"

"That is a lie," Lucario sharply said. "Don't try to change my mind. I have made my decision!" The Pokemon slammed the door shut. They heard his footsteps pace back and forth as he waited. Popo felt someone crying on his shoulder. It was Nana.

"Don't cry, Nana."

"How can he do this to us?" Nana sobbed. "He can't do this… it's not like Lucario to do this!"

Popo hugged his sister. "We were wrong about him. It's all right. The others will rescue us."

"I-I hope so, Popo…"

* * *

They were teetering on a very dangerous line. Red glanced at Fox and Falco and found much to his dismay, that they were still knocked out cold. "Lucas, run when I tell you to," the Pokemon Trainer ordered. Lucas stared at him like he was crazy.

"I'm not leaving you," the younger boy answered. Red opened his mouth and quickly shut it. There was no use arguing about the subject.

Charizard staggered forward at Midna and suddenly let loose a powerful Flamethrower. Midna absorbed the attack the way she had absorbed Lucas's and shot it at Ivysaur. The plant Pokemon was too slow to avoid the blast and was turned into a stone-cold trophy.

Red bit his lip as he returned his Pokemon. He knew that his Pokemon was doing the best he could to delay the inevitable. Suddenly, an idea sparked in Red's mind.

_That's crazy!_ some rational part of him argued. _She'll crush you all before you manage to take off!_ Red shoved those thoughts away and made a leap of faith. He landed right on Charizard's back and he clung onto the dragon's neck. His Pokemon looked at him in confusion. "Lucas! Get Fox and Falco! Hurry!"

Lucas wasted no time asking. He scrambled over to the unconscious pilots and began to drag them away when Midna struck again.

A shower of dark energy rained over Lucas. Wherever they touched, they burned into his skin deeply. Lucas fought back the urge to cry and began to drag Fox and Falco toward Red. Midna was not intent on letting her enemies go, however. She formed a spear with her powers and hurled it at the little boy.

"Lucas!"

Red's cry came too late. Lucas turned around and his eyes widened as the spear struck.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Whee... aren't cliffhangers fun? 8D Anyway, I give thanks to BabyCharmander for Beta Reading this once more X3;


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**.:Chapter Fifteen:.**

Rayquaza bit harder on Jigglypuff's hand and savagely grinned. This fight was almost over and, as far as he could see, there was no way his enemies could win. Jigglypuff had stopped struggling and was glowering fiercely at the dragon. Was that supposed to scare him?

"Leggo of him!" Dedede demanded. He swung his hammer with all his might.

Rayquaza let out a screech as he was knocked back by Dedede's attack. Jigglypuff yanked his hand out of Rayquaza's mouth and punched the Legendary straight in the kisser, sending Rayquaza spiraling to the ground.

Rayquaza lay there, unmoving, his great eyes closed. Jigglypuff cautiously walked over and poked the huge dragon. Nothing happened.

The Balloon Pokemon let out a sigh and deflated himself. Seconds later, Jigglypuff was back to his original size.

"Puff jiggly," he sighed. Jigglypuff looked over where Olimar was hiding and sharply said, "Jiggly jiggly puff!"

"Lay off him," Dedede coolly said. "I wouldn't blame him for hidin'. Y'all right there?"

Olimar nervously looked at the fallen Rayquaza. "Are you sure it's dead?"

"Jiggly jiggly puff puff jiggly," Jigglypuff grumbled. He hopped over to Rayquaza and landed neatly on his giant head. "Jiggly!"

"I think it's dead." Dedede shouldered his hammer. "Don't worry 'bout it. Would you mind tellin' me what you were doin' here?"

"Uh…" Olimar was unsure of how to begin. "Jigglypuff was just helping me find my friends…"

The king gave a bellowing laugh. "What a coincidence, eh?" He gave Olimar such a strong pat on the back that it almost knocked the small man over. "Considerin' what happened here, I might as well tag along!"

"That's not needed–"

"Jiggly puff puff jiggly," Jigglypuff rolled his eyes. Why wouldn't Olimar just accept Dedede's help? The giant penguin was offering it and they might as well take it. It might come in handy sooner or later. As Jigglypuff began to climb down from Rayquaza's head, a low growl rumbled through the air.

"Wh-what was that?" Olimar slowly backed away. Before anyone could answer, Rayquaza's claws shot out and snatched up Jigglypuff and Dedede. The mighty dragon reared up again and regarded the two with cold, calculating eyes. Olimar stood there, trembling from head to toe. Rayquaza mockingly grinned 

at him, taunting the captain's helplessness. Rayquaza opened his jaws and prepared to swallow the helpless heroes…

… And he suddenly snapped his maw shut as a golden blade danced across the air. Meta Knight landed in front of Olimar, Galaxia raised, his cape flowing dramatically behind him. Rayquaza snarled in irritation and flung Dedede at them.

The king was stopped by an invisible force. Mewtwo floated down with Toon Link and R.O.B., and gently set Dedede down. Jigglypuff burst out, "Puff jiggly! Jiggly jiggly puff!"

"We didn't forget about you," Mewtwo said. Toon Link brandished his sword, eager to fight. Rayquaza regarded them with hateful eyes and growled. This was getting troublesome. All these intruders… especially that other Legendary… was it worth defending this worthless turf?

The Legendary let out a deafening roar and flew off… with Jigglypuff still in his grasp.

* * *

Donkey Kong grunted in surprise. What was that stupid blue hedgehog doing here? Diddy Kong finally managed to free himself from the sticky goo and was on his feet, frantically trying to rub the remaining mess off his fur. Bowser Junior slowly began to edge away, intent on running off.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sonic snatched Bowser Junior before he could take another step.

"Let go of me!" Bowser Junior swung his paintbrush as hard as he could. Sonic grabbed the paintbrush just as it was about to hit his head. "Let go! Let go!"

"You sure have a temper." Sonic tossed the Koopa prince at Donkey Kong. The ape stepped out of the way, causing Bowser Junior to crash into a tree. Diddy Kong gave a scornful laugh. "Listen up, you monkeys. There's something very important I need to tell you."

The two Kongs looked at each other, then at Bowser Junior. The Koopa prince swore at them as he rubbed a bruise on his head.

"Ah-hem," the hedgehog coughed, trying to regain their attention. "I need your help to build something. Don't ask what it is. Just know that it's just important. If you do it right, you'll get a great reward."

Diddy Kong looked at his friend and nervously chattered. Was Donkey Kong thinking of accepting Sonic's offer?

The ape gave an unintelligible grunt and shook his head. He glanced at Bowser Junior, saw that he wasn't going anywhere, and motioned for Diddy to leave with him. As Donkey Kong turned around though, he heard a shrill cry. He spun around and saw Sonic holding Diddy in a headlock. Donkey Kong gave an enraged hoot and charged.

"You freaking idiot!" Donkey Kong was suddenly knocked back by a strong blast of goo. Bowser Junior was on his feet again, waving his paintbrush like mad. "He has a knife! Can't you see it?"

Sonic eyed Bowser Junior warily. "You're smarter than you look, kid." The knife flashed through the air and pressed against Diddy's neck. The monkey instantly fell silent. "Now, why don't we try this again? You'll come along and help me, or your little buddy here will be walking around without a head." At that, Diddy let out a defiant screech. The hedgehog ignored Diddy and turned his attention to the Koopa prince.

"And you, kid. You want to find your daddy, don't you?" His tone was mocking, goading Bowser Junior to fight. "But do you actually think that you can go storming against the entire Subspace Army and win? I can help you…"

"I don't need anybody's help," Bowser Junior growled. But Sonic saw the uncertainty in his eyes and smugly grinned.

"Is that what you think? Well, if you change your mind, feel free to tag along. C'mon, you ape." Sonic began to walk down the beaten path, Diddy Kong still trapped in his grasp. Donkey Kong gave a frustrated hoot but followed.

As the trio began to disappear from sight, Bowser Junior stood there, blinking back annoying tears. Why did that Sonic have to put these thoughts in his head? Up until now, everything seemed to be working. The little Koopa prince quickly wiped at his eyes. "Who cares? I can rescue Papa myself!" Bowser Junior said aloud to himself. But he knew that he was lying to himself, and he knew that he _couldn't_ do this alone.

He stared at the spot where Sonic had been standing minutes earlier. Bowser Junior shook his head and cursed himself, but started down the road after the others.

_Papa, I will save you…_

* * *

"NO!"

The Pokemon Trainer moved too late. In a blinding flash, Lucas was gone, replaced by a cold, dead trophy. Red forgot everything, forgot about saving Fox and Falco, and dashed at the imp. Charizard held his trainer back firmly, not intent on seeing Red die in front of him. Red fought against the Pokemon's grip, yelling, "Damn it! Let go of me, Charizard! Let go!" Charizard only shook his head and held on tighter.

Midna impassively yanked the spear from the ground and prepared to hurl it once more. Suddenly, the weapon was knocked from her hands by an arrow-headed chain. The spear dissolved from the impact. She faced the new attacker, a fierce scowl on her face. Midna stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the newcomers, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Midna?" Sheik stood there, her scarlet eyes confused. "What's going on here?" Her gaze moved to Fox, Falco, and Lucas and her expression hardened as she looked back at Midna.

"Zelda…" Midna tried to speak, but something seemed lodged in her throat. _How could I have been so blind?_ She couldn't take this anymore. She had to find Link… then everything could somehow work out.

Midna closed her eyes and teleported away, her last words so quiet that it was barely heard over the wind. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Pit flew through the thick trees, his heart pounding. Had it really been a good idea to split up with Zel- Sheik? No time to think. The angel heard shouting from the right and sharply turned. He landed and stared at the sight that greeted him.

It was a huge ship, its side nailed with impossibly thick sheets of iron. There were no sails or masts, only gigantic, steel wings jutting from its side. Standing in front of this monster of a ship was Lucario. The Ice Climbers were nowhere in sight.

"It took you long enough to get here," the Pokemon quietly said.

"Where did Popo and Nana go?" Pit demanded.

Lucario raised a paw. "They're in the ship. You are skeptical, I see…" He noticed Pit's glare. "You don't trust me, do you? Step inside and see for yourself." Lucario opened the doorway and gave a scornful bow. Pit hesitated before walking in. Lucario trailed after and shut the door.

The first thing that hit the angel was the unnatural darkness in the room. Even the glowing bow that he carried was a mere flicker in the gloom. Pit cautiously stepped forward and said, "Lucario, isn't there a light switch?"

"No," Lucario's voice floated from behind. Pit felt Lucario's paw tug at his hand. "This way."

Pit blindly followed the Pokemon, not knowing where they were going. His soldier sense was screaming danger, telling him that he should get the heck out of here. Pit unwisely ignored it and continued to walk, reminding himself that the others were depending on him.

Lucario stopped. Pit heard a door open and the quiet buzzing of a light bulb. Wait a minute… hadn't Lucario said there was no light?

"Lucario, I don't see Popo or Nana," Pit turned to him in confusion. "Are you sure this is the right room?"

The Pokemon coldly answered, "I am very sure." Before Pit had time to think, Lucario had slammed the door shut. The ominous click of the lock echoed through the dingy room.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Pit banged against the door. "Lucario!"

He received nothing but silence. Pit slashed at the metal door, trying to hack it open. The door gave a low groan but did not break.

"Pit? Is that you Pit?"

The angel turned around and frowned. Where were the voices coming from? "Who's there?"

"We're in here!"

He made his way around the huge crates and found the Ice Climbers sitting in a cage. Nana tearfully smiled. "Pit!"

He kneeled down to their eye level and gently touched the thick bars. "Are you all right?"

"W-we're fine."

Pit studied the lock and began to pry it open with his bow. "What's gotten into Lucario?"

"We don't know," Popo hopelessly said. "He doesn't believe that… that… we're his friends." His voice was so subdued that Pit almost misheard him.

So Lucario was the traitor. For some reason, it didn't surprise him much. The Pokemon was always solitary and aloof…

He wrenched the lock off and tossed it aside. "So that's how this whole mess started," Pit growled. Nana suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Please… promise us you won't hurt Lucario!"

"What?"

"He doesn't know any better." the pink Ice Climber lowered her eyes. "Just… promise us…"

Was Nana crazy? Was she really that naïve? Pit flatly answered, "I don't know about that." He shrugged off Nana's grip and began to search for a way out.

* * *

Link parried another powerful blow and bashed his shield against Ganondorf's side. The warlock stumbled back and Link dove forward, seeing his chance. Ganondorf whipped his hand across the air, sending a powerful pulse of dark magic at his nemesis. Link was forced to block as Ganondorf signaled the Primids to attack.

The monsters eagerly obeyed their commander's order. Before Link had the time to think, he was mobbed by a sea of Primids. The Hero of Time swung his sword again and again, knocking back the monsters. Ganondorf darkly chuckled to himself and began to leave when something smashed him. Ganondorf kneeled in pain, cursing. Link had thrown a Metal Primid at him.

Link heroically made his way through the Primids and slashed at Ganondorf, intent on finishing the battle. The warlock was pinned to the ground, the Master Sword's blade pressed into his neck. The 

Primids backed away, afraid of what was going to happen to their commander. Link grimly raised his sword and prepared to deal the finishing blow.

Ganondorf laughed.

Link stopped in mid-swing, suddenly aware that something was wrong. He turned around too late to see the black arrow speeding toward him. Pain exploded through him, sending the world into a kaleidoscope of colors.

And then he knew no more.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**.:Chapter Sixteen:.**

"Kirby! Come back here!" Samus ordered as they ran after him.

The puffball ignored them as he continued to run after Game and Watch, shouting over and over again for the monochrome man to stop. Pikachu flinched. Someone was bound to hear them from all the noise they were making!

Mr. Game and Watch unexpectedly turned and seemingly disappeared into the gloom. Kirby screeched into a halt, causing Pikachu to crash into him. The two went tumbling forward, bouncing and rolling a good yard or so down the hallway.

"Pika pi! Pikachu pika pika pikachu?!" Pikachu snapped. Kirby lay on his back, blinking in confusion. The Pokemon jumped to his paws and tugged at the puffball. "Pika, pikachu pika pika…" He spoke softer, suddenly aware that Mr. Game and Watch was still lurking. He didn't know if the monochrome man could understand what he was saying, but it never hurt to be careful. Kirby continued to stare at the ceiling, barely stirring.

"He's hungry again," Ike muttered. Captain Falcon looked at him in amusement. "Don't laugh. He didn't eat anything besides the keys. He's half-starved to death."

"Puyo," Kirby looked at them with his wide eyes. It hurt to move because of his empty stomach. He had spent the rest of his energy chasing Mr. Game and Watch. Marth sighed and picked the puffball up.

"I'll carry him. Do you think we can make it through the factory without–"

Suddenly, there was an alarmed beep. Everyone snapped to attention, startled by this change. They thought they saw a flash of white streak by them in the darkness, but perhaps that was their imagination…

Captain Falcon leaped to his feet and declared, "We can do fine without Game and Watch. Samus, lead the way!"

Samus nodded and headed down into the winding hallways. Pikachu stopped to look back, and he fancied that he saw a giant, floating hand clutching the monochrome man. But when the Pokemon blinked, he was gone. Perhaps it had all been an illusion. Maybe Game and Watch ran off on his own. But he was worried, ever since they had set foot in this factory. Something was stirring, he could feel it.

Pikachu shook his head and ran after the others.

* * *

The car drove so wildly that it almost ran over several people in the process. The driver didn't care at all if they got hit by the vehicle, anyway. The claw on attached on the back gently swayed as he sharply turned once more. Wario looked back to see if the trophy was still there and gave a grunt of satisfaction. 

The so-called 'Hero of Time' was sitting there, safe and sound. Tabuu was going to pay him generously for this.

He muttered as he heard the screaming of the villagers. Did Ganondorf really need to terrorize _everything_ he saw?

Wario peered at the computer on the dashboard and chuckled when he saw the coordinates. They were that close? This was going to be a piece of cake. He slammed his foot on the pedal and the car rocketed forward. The Dark Canon beside him jolted dangerously close to the edge and teetered there, but it didn't seem to bother Wario as he crazily drove toward the forest…

* * *

"_Bad Bulbie! No! Stop, Bulbie!"_

_Olimar looked up from the e-paper and almost dropped the cup of coffee he was holding. The Captain carefully set his drink down and tossed the e-paper onto the sofa as he ran outside to the garden. The dog was digging up the flowers and his son was tugging in vain at the leash, trying to keep Bulbie from causing even more destruction._

_Olimar yanked on the leash and Bulbie was pulled back. The dog looked at Olimar and gave an innocent look. The tiny man sighed. "C'mon, Bulbie. Inside now. And you," he sharply said when he saw his son trying to sneak away. "Clean this up before Mom comes back. I'll help after I get Bulbie settled down."_

"_Aww… but it wasn't my fault, Dad! Honest! Bulbie just ran outside and–"_

"_No excuses." Olimar said as he led Bulbie into the house. The dog happily followed his master, leaving muddy tracks all over the kitchen floor. Olimar winced when he saw them. Ah well, he'll have to clean that up later._

_He left Bulbie in his dog pen and went back outside. His son was silently stuffing the uprooted flowers into a garbage robot, his hands coated completely with dirt. When he saw that his father had come over, though, the boy perked up and cheerfully said, "Hey Dad. Can you take me on your next adventure?"_

_Olimar's answer was instantaneous. "No."_

_His son made a face. "Why not, Dad? C'mon! I won't get in the way!"_

"_It's dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt."_

"_Well I don't want _you_ to get hurt. What's the difference?"_

_Olimar blinked. "Well… I guess… I'm older. You're young. You have–"_

"_Yeah, yeah, I know. I have my whole life ahead of me." The boy thought for a moment before continuing, "But I don't want to stay home my entire life! Please, can't you take me with you? It can be somewhere non-dangerous or whatever…"_

_Olimar sat next to his son and gently said, "We can't have everything in life." When he saw his son's crestfallen look, Olimar quickly added, "I'll tell you what. This afternoon, when your sister and Mom come home, I'll take us to a vacation wherever you want. I can afford to miss work for a week or so. How does that sound?"_

"_Really?" His son jumped to his feet. "Can we travel to another planet?"_

_Oh boy. The boy wasn't going to let go of the subject easily. Olimar pretended to be suddenly interested in the dirt. "Well…"_

_His phone rang. Olimar flipped open the tiny device and silently groaned. It was from the President. What could his boss want on his day off? The captain moved to the side and answered, "Hello?"_

"_Olimar!" The President's voice crackled through. "There's something important I must discuss with you…"_

_Olimar glanced at his son. The boy was beginning to shovel the dirt back into the hole. "What is it?"_

"_Louie… well… he messed up once more!" Olimar flinched at the President's harsh words. "Lost an important shipment. I'll need you to go gather more of those treasures."_

"_Are we in debt again?"_

"_No. But it never helps to be financially safe, does it? We might as well declare bankruptcy if Louie messes up again!"_

_Olimar felt his heart sink. "Um… sir…"_

"_Is something wrong?"_

"_No, it's fine. I'll get to it right away."_

_He heard the President slurp something. Probably coffee. "I knew I could count on you, Mr. Olimar!"_

_Olimar hung up and turned to his son. The boy was staring intently at his father, a broad smile on his face. The tiny man nervously began, "Son… I'll have to postpone our trip. I have a job to do."_

_The smile faded away. "Oh," the boy dully said. "Okay. When are you going to be back?"_

"_I don't know. It won't take too long, of course. I'll promise I'll bring you back souvenirs and photos, all right?"_

_His son ran up to him and hugged him tightly. Olimar almost dropped his phone in surprise. The boy looked up at him with those wide eyes of his and solemnly said, "Promise me you'll be back, Dad."  
_

_Olimar returned the hug and dolefully smiled. "I will."_

* * *

"Olimar! Hey, wake up, Olimar!"

Olimar groggily awoke to the shrill voice. What the–? Was he dreaming? Why was there a robot staring at him?

"He seems fine," the robot said. "No visible damage or brain trauma."

"And I thought it was impossible for people to die of fright!" The shrill voice from earlier chirped. It turned out to be Toon Link's. The cartoon hero grinned at the captain and waved. Wait… why was he floating?

"He didn't 'die of fright'," Mewtwo corrected. The Pokemon was staring straight ahead, concentrating on their target. "He just fainted."

Olimar blinked in surprise. He looked around him and froze for a split second. He was floating in the air too! Wait… that was wrong…

"Don't make any sudden movements. You might fall." R.O.B. warned. Ah, that made sense now. He was being carried by R.O.B….

Olimar stared down and felt his stomach lurch. Flying at this height didn't usually make him nauseous. Then again, he was in a cockpit of some sort when he flew. "What's going on?"

"We're rescuin' Jigglypuff, remember?" Dedede popped up next to him, suspended in mid-air. The king nodded toward the green flash in front of them. Rayquaza. Olimar let out a meek 'oh'.

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes and, much to Olimar's surprise, they glowed. Rayquaza screeched to a halt and let out a roar of protest. Before the captain could put two and two together, a black and silver flash streaked past him. Meta Knight was charging heedlessly at the great Legendary. As if on signal, everyone suddenly dropped lower. Toon Link let out a delighted 'yahoo!' while Olimar stared forlornly ahead.

They were getting closer to Rayquaza now. Meta Knight was darting here and there swiftly, slashing at every open spot he could. Olimar squinted and saw a pink speck clutched in the dragon's claw.

"Are you ready?" R.O.B. quietly asked. The captain looked at the robot.

"Ready for wha- AH!"

R.O.B. kicked his Robo Burner into high gear and sped at Rayquaza, with Olimar clinging blindly to him. Toon Link shot past him, carrying multiple bombs in his arms. Rayquaza circled in the air in a tight circle, roaring and snapping at Meta Knight whenever he had the chance.

The Legendary was rushing up to them now and Olimar instinctively closed his eyes. The wind was a roar in his ears and he could feel himself falling down to the ground…

"Throw this when I tell you to."

Olimar dared to open his eyes again and saw R.O.B. was flying over Rayquaza. The robot moved his good arm and showed the spiked top he was holding. Olimar took the top and stared at it. It seemed like something his kids would play with…

"Say 'ah'!" Toon Link playfully taunted the dragon. He was flying around with seemingly effortless ease and was throwing his bombs at the enraged Rayquaza. "Wider! Show me those pearly whites!"

A bomb sailed into the gaping maw and exploded. Cell-shaded smoke flew everywhere and Toon Link zipped off as Rayquaza roared in anger and pain. Meta Knight wrapped himself tightly with his cloak and disappeared. Olimar blinked. Where did he go?!

A split second later, the warrior re-appeared next to Jigglypuff and stabbed the claw that held the Pokemon. Rayquaza instantly lashed out at Meta Knight, but the warrior was already out of his reach. Galaxia was firmly embedded in Rayquaza's wrist now, a great annoyance to the Legendary. The golden eyes widened as he saw Mewtwo teleport in front of him and he growled.

Dedede took advantage of the Pokemon's distracted state and tried to hit him with his hammer, but Rayquaza easily avoided the slow attack and fired multiple fireballs at the king. King Dedede leaped out of the way and flew off with Meta Knight.

Rayquaza reared up and gave an ear-blasting scream.

The shockwaves knocked all of them back. Olimar suddenly felt R.O.B.'s grip on him loosen and, before he knew it, he was spiraling toward the ground. He saw Mewtwo's eyes widen and feebly waved. What else could he do? He suddenly remembered what he had promised his son and closed his eyes. Some help he was!

Unexpectedly, he stopped falling. No impact, no jerk, he was just floating as though he was being held up by some strings. Olimar blinked and realized that Mewtwo was using his psychic powers to keep him afloat in the air. His relief was short lived, however, as Rayquaza charged at them again.

Toon Link flew dangerously close to the Legendary and jabbed his sword at the Legendary's eye. Rayquaza shook his head violently and reared up once more. Toon Link began to fly away when Rayquaza snatched him up with his other claw.

Olimar saw the rage in Mewtwo's gaze as he flung a Shadow Ball at the dragon. The dark energy was met with Rayquaza's powerful beam. R.O.B. made a heroic attempt to rescue the little cartoon hero by firing his laser, but the Legendary shrugged it off as one would do to a fly.

Now Dedede jumped into the fray. The penguin let out a shout as he swung his hammer at Rayquaza, smoke and fire bellowing from it. Rayquaza staggered back, though he kept a firm grip on Jigglypuff and Toon Link.

Somebody roughly grabbed Olimar by the collar and dragged him toward Rayquaza. The captain turned around and saw Meta Knight grimly surveying the situation. He noticed that the warrior's eyes were on Galaxia, and Olimar uneasily shifted.

"When I drop you, throw that top at Rayquaza's arm as hard as you can." Meta Knight ordered as he circled around the Legendary. His grip on Olimar tightened.

The top? Olimar found that he was still holding it. The captain compared the size to the huge giant in front of them. What harm could it do?

"Are you ready?"

Olimar found that he could not speak. He only gave a nod and that satisfied Meta Knight well enough. Meta Knight dived at an incredible speed straight toward Rayquaza. The dragon saw this and gave a savage grin, certain that they would be easy prey. Olimar was starting to doubt the sanity of the warrior's plan when he felt Meta Knight's grasp slackened. The next thing he knew was that he was sent hurtling through the air. Olimar gripped the top as he approached Toon Link and threw the toy as hard as he could.

It cut with surprising ease.

Rayquaza floated there, unmoving, unblinking, as though he had been frozen. Everyone stood still, waiting to see what the Legendary was planning to do next. Suddenly, the Pokemon let out a terrible sound, a dying cry as his arm fell, with Toon Link still in its claws.

Mewtwo immediately grabbed at the falling arm with his psychic powers, concentrating so hard that Olimar could see the psychic aura around him flare up. The cartoon hero pulled himself out from the claw's grip and floated slowly toward Mewtwo.

Rayquaza let out another chilling cry as his other arm fell off. Meta Knight flew back to them, Galaxia in one hand, and Jigglypuff in the other.

The mighty Legendary looked at them with a hateful glare and a strangled sound tore from him. He opened his maw, as though he was going to attack them once more, and everyone braced themselves.

A strained silence filled the air once more.

Then, with a pitiful shriek, Rayquaza, the Legendary Pokemon of the Sky, began to slowly fall to the earth below.

* * *

Snake was gone.

Not exactly. Snake wasn't gone. He was there, as a trophy, but he didn't move, didn't speak, didn't _live_. Petey greedily eyed his new prize and let out a gloating laugh. Peach stared in horror as Petey attempted to pick the trophy up with his foot. Suddenly, a fireball barely grazed the plant monster. 

Petey gave a startled yelp and looked around for the attacker. It took him a minute to realize that it was Mario who had shot the fireball. Petey growled and fiercely shook Mario's cage.

Suddenly, a huge jet of fire slammed into Petey's face. The Piranha monster gave a shriek of pain and he wildly waved the cages about. Bowser held onto the bars, a grim smirk on his face.

"I wonder why we didn't think of that in the first place!" The Koopa King suddenly lurched to the side as Petey fell to the ground, writhing in pure agony. He gave a shrill shriek, violently twitched, and gave a rasping breath. His giant head lolled to the side, the flames beginning to eat away at his body. Petey Piranha was dead.

The same could not be said for the fire as it eagerly began to make its way toward the imprisoned pair. Mario studied the bars as Bowser tried in vain to break it open. "Hmm… Bowser… do you have anything sharp?"

"We're about to die and you ask if I have anything sharp?!" Bowser roared in response. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Of course I do!"

"Now calm down," Peach was suddenly there, her tone soothing and calm. If she hadn't been shaking, Mario could've sworn that she wasn't fazed at all. "I'm sure Mario knows what he's doing. Why don't we listen…"

Bowser eyed the rapidly approaching fire and decided that now was not the best time to fight. He'll pick a bone with the dumb plumber later. "All right Mario. Talk fast. Now."

Mario was more than happy to. "Pick the lock with your claw-ah."

"What?! You have got to be kidding me! That only works in movies and books!"

"Do you want to get out alive?"

Bowser cursed under his breath and randomly jabbed a claw into the lock. The Koopa King grumbled as he jiggled his claw around, trying half-heartedly to open it. There was a small click to Bowser's disbelief. He yanked at the bars, but it held. "I knew it wouldn't work! You stupid, half-witted–"

Peach walked forward, looked closely at the cage, and gently pulled the lock away. The door creaked open. Bowser commenced to loud swearing.

"I hate it when you do that!" Bowser snarled. He charged out of his prison and seemed ready to get the heck out of here when Peach grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't forget about Mario," she sweetly reminded. "We can't leave without him." Bowser stared at Mario, at the burning carcass of Petey, then back at Mario. He groaned.

"You owe me, plumber." He snarled. "But this is the only time this will happen!" Bowser marched up to Mario's cage and began to pick the lock deliberately slowly. The fire crept nearer. Mario coughed.

"Uh… Bowser… you might want to hurry up."

Bowser gave him a sharp glare but only saw politeness on Mario's face. The Koopa King gave a growl in return and yanked the lock off. Mario leaped past him and ran next to Peach, just as the flames reached Mario's cage. Bowser rolled his eyes. "Plumbers. Look, you two, there's no time to get mushy around here!" He sharply added when he saw them hugging, lost in each other's gaze. "Let's move it!"

Peach gave a small smile and untwined herself from the plumber. "Just a second." She walked over to the Snake trophy and gently touched its base.

The trophy gave a bright glow and Snake was standing there once more, shaking his head. The agent looked around him in confusion, quickly pieced together the facts, and coughed. His gaze was somehow drawn to Mario and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, it's you, that plumber guy… what's your name again…?" Snake snapped his fingers once more. "Maria or something like that. No… no… it's Mario, isn't it? Yeah, there's something I need to tell you."

"If it's-ah about the Subspace Emissary," Mario hesitantly said, "I already know."

Snake slapped his forehead. "Great. We went through all that trouble…" He good-naturedly began to complain. Bowser stomped loudly.

"Can we get a move on already?!"

"Of course," Peach promptly answered. She gave Mario a small, secret smile and curtseyed. Bowser thought he saw the plumber slightly blush. "After you."

Bowser spent the rest of the trip through the pipes cursing the love doves under his breath.

* * *

Roy leaped at the boy, sword raised, his mind reeling with ways to win this match without killing this kid. Ness side-stepped Roy's attack and swung his baseball bat at the swordsman. Yoshi kicked it aside and stood beside Roy, ready to knock any attempt to harm the lord. The boy tossed his bat aside and whipped out his yo-yo. Roy stared, baffled, and lowered his guard.

Bad decision.

A second later, he was seeing stars as the toy slammed his nose. Dang! That yo-yo packed the same punch as the bat! Ness seized the chance and sent another PK Thunder his way. An egg collided with the PSI attack and dissipated it. Ness glanced at Yoshi who stood next to Roy, a fierce look on his face and another egg ready in his hands.

The boy stepped back, arms on his hips. Yoshi tensed, waiting for another attack. Roy had his sword up again, and was warily watching Ness.

Suddenly, a car came screeching into the scene and a dark arrow flew through the air. It barely missed Roy and Yoshi, but they could feel the power pulsating from it. Ness leaped onto the back of the car with the Link trophy and gave a mock salute. "Well, go into the town if you want! It'll make no difference!"

Before Roy could ponder the words, Wario shot the strange cannon once more. Yoshi jumped over it just in time and gave an angry 'hup hup!' Ness shrugged and whispered something in the mustached man's ear.

Wario slammed the gas pedal and the car took off with a roar. Roy stared at the town, then back at his dinosaur companion. Yoshi somberly looked back at him and bent down. The swordsman cleared his throat. "Are you sure…?"

"Yoshi, yoshi hup hup!" Yoshi urged.

Without further ado, Roy leaped on Yoshi's back and they took off after the car, into the forest…

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the lateness. My schoolwork is catching up to me D: Added to the fact that my computer time is limited, the story is starting to crawl. But don't worry! This story won't die out, I promise.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**.:Chapter Seventeen:.**

Midna was hiding behind a tree, watching them carefully. She could tell that 'Sheik' was Zelda by the way she held herself, the reaction she had when she saw her… the Twili closed her eyes and silently told herself that if Zelda was there, then Link should be too. It made sense.

Midna peeked from her hiding place and bit her lip. Zelda was still alert, ready for her to teleport back in and attack them. The boy was eyeing his friend's trophy, hesitant to go over and revive him. He seemed to be expecting a trap…

She could only blame herself. Midna bit down harder. The metallic taste of blood began to trickle into her mouth.

A low rumble filled the air and she snapped to attention. What was that? Zelda and that boy seemed to have heard it too, as they cautiously looked around them. The dragon stumbled forward and gave a menacing growl, daring whatever it was to come out.

He got his answer. A claw shot out from the foliage and snatched the trophy lying on the ground. Zelda instantly fired off needles toward the source of the mechanical limb and was surprised to see that her own weapons were reflected back at her.

An odd car sped past them so fast that it was a mere blur. Midna instantly recognized the trophy on the back of the car. Link! The Twili acted without thinking and dived at the car. Her hair morphed into a hand as she desperately tried to grab onto the Hero of Time's trophy.

She mistimed her dive and found herself grabbing onto the car's bumper instead. The driver looked back and grunted in irritation when he saw Midna hanging on. The boy sitting next to him was making his way toward her now; bat in hand, ready to knock her off.

Midna slid into the boy's shadow and stayed there, waiting for the right time to strike. Her enemy seemed startled by her disappearance and frantically looked around for her. Before Midna could attack him, though, a long sticky tongue knocked the boy off his feet, sending him tumbling off the car. The source of the tongue was revealed as a green dinosaur-like creature pulled up next to the car, regarding her with solemn, wide eyes. Riding on the dinosaur was a swordsman, focused on the driver, his sword in hand.

The swordsman leaped off the dinosaur creature's back and tackled the fat man driving the car. There was a brief struggle as they both tried to gain control of the steering wheel. The driver growled in frustration and kicked him squarely in the face. The swordsman held on, and jerked the wheel to the left.

The car swung wildly off the path and it teetered dangerously over its side. The fat man was quick to push a button on the dashboard. The vehicle, with a roar, lifted off the ground, much to Midna's surprise.

Her attention was returned to Link's trophy. With the greatest care, she reached out to touch the base…

Midna's hand was knocked away by a yo-yo. The imp looked up in surprise and was met with a strong whack on her head by the toy. The boy had somehow managed to climb back up, and was the only obstacle between her and Link…

* * *

"Jigglypuff! Y'know, that hairstyle of yours is weird! How do you get it to be that way?"

The Pokemon glared at Toon Link and snapped, "Jiggly, jiggly puff puff jiggly!"

"Hey, hey! I _want_ my hair to look that way. Does it curl like that naturally or something?" Toon Link hurriedly backtracked. Jigglypuff rolled his huge eyes at him and focused on his half-cooked meal. Mewtwo gently nudged the cartoon hero.

"I think you should leave him alone, Toon Link."

Toon Link looked at the exasperated Pokemon and grudgingly said, "I was just trying to cheer him up." He clambered over to Mewtwo's side and sighed. "Hey, Mewtwo? Can I go talk to Meta Knight? Or Olimar? I'm bored."

The Legendary looked at the others sitting gloomily by the campfire. "I suppose. Don't bug them too much, though."

Toon Link found that after they had killed Rayquaza, the adrenaline that had been pumping in through him was now gone, leaving him feeling dejected, restless, and well… bored. Mewtwo was sitting around, pondering about something and was no fun to talk to, anyway.

He hopped over to where Olimar was attempting to fix R.O.B.'s arm. The Captain was cautiously reattaching and snipping off some wires, muttering to himself every now and then. The robot stood perfectly still, patiently waiting for the little man to finish his job.

"Hey, Olimar! Can I help?" Toon Link sat beside Olimar and began to rummage through the tools. Olimar hesitated.

"I guess so. Just… hey! Put that down!" Olimar hastily snatched his letters from the cartoon hero. Toon Link raised an eyebrow at him but suddenly broke out into a sly grin.

"Why did you scribble weird, nerdy stuff in the margins? Do you have a geeky girlfriend?"

The Captain looked away. "I'm more of a scientist than an adventurer. I need someplace to write my observations." He ignored Toon Link's curious gaze and began to screw a bolt into R.O.B.'s arm.

"Really? Do you invent stuff? Do you make things like Frankenstein? Are you a mad scientist?" The last thought made Toon Link gasp in amazement. Olimar faintly smiled.

"Nothing interesting really. I just study wildlife and… well… everything you can think of. I don't really specialize in anything."

Toon Link rolled his eyes. "Yeah, _right_. And maybe you clone stuff for fun…" he suddenly stopped speaking, as though he remembered something disturbing. The cartoon hero shut his big mouth and sat there, trying as hard as he could not to let slip anything else. Olimar didn't seem to notice as he carefully screwed in the last bolt.

"There you go, R.O.B."

R.O.B. tested his new arm around and seemed satisfied with it. "Thank you." The robot dipped his head in thanks. Without further ado, he scooped up the tools and returned them to the compartment in his torso. Olimar sat down and sighed. He was exhausted, had no clue where his friends were, and didn't know where this whole crazy adventure would go next. All he wanted to do now was to fly back home and stay there for good…

"Hey, Olimar, what's it like to be in a family?"

The Captain turned around to find Toon Link reading his letters with keen interest. Olimar nervously began, "I would like it if you kindly put it back–"

Toon Link carefully set the papers down and almost crossly said, "You heard me. What's it like to be in a family?"

Olimar blinked. "Don't you have a family?"

"No,"

"No?"

"Get over it," Toon Link snapped. His tone suddenly softened as he continued to talk. "Please… can you just tell me, Olimar?"

How the heck was he going to explain what family was like to this boy who had absolutely no clue? Olimar cleared his throat and tried to find a way to start. "Well… a family is like… do you have friends? It's like that except… they're closer. There's this deeper bond between them." He expected Toon Link to make a smart-alack remark, but, to his surprise, Toon Link just nodded.

"So…" Toon Link thoughtfully began. "What's it like to be a dad?"

Olimar looked at the cartoon hero and found that it was suddenly hard for him to speak. "I wouldn't trade anything in the world to _not_ be a father." the little man quietly said. "Why do you ask that?"

The cartoon hero shrugged. "I guess I'm just curious. So, if you're a kid to somebody, do you look like them?"

"Usually it's a combination of both the mother and father but… uh… yes."

Toon Link beamed at him so brightly that Olimar had to smile. "Thanks, man!" He jumped off his seat and ran over to Mewtwo, belting out a song at the top of his lungs.

Later that night, as Olimar leaned against the rock, re-reading his letters, he saw Toon Link curled up with Mewtwo; his over-sized head drooped against the Pokemon's chest. Surprisingly, Mewtwo said nothing about it and let him snooze away. He met Olimar's gaze and simply nodded before closing his luminous eyes to sleep.

* * *

"They're in the laboratory?"

"Yes. They're trying to find the experiments, you know."

"It doesn't matter. They'll find nothing. Still… set out the robot to meet them. We aren't going to take any chances."

"Yes, Commander Wolf."

* * *

The hallways seemed to go on and on with no end in sight. Captain Falcon seemed confident in his sense of direction and didn't even bother to stop and think when they had to choose between multiple paths. Pikachu had abandoned his position beside Samus and was now resting comfortably on Marth's head, watching Kirby anxiously. The prince said nothing about it and didn't seem to notice the Pokemon's presence.

"We're here!" Falcon suddenly declared. He pulled of the cover of the manhole and stepped back. The bounty hunter tapped the side of his helmet and nodded in satisfaction. "This was the way we came in. We'll ride my Falcon Flyer to–"

"Weren't we here to free the lab experiments? And if I remember, we were to find Sonic as well." Ike pointedly said.

Captain Falcon nodded. "I figure finding Sonic would be more important. After all, we need the whole gang to take down Tabuu… again." He stepped back and gestured for Samus to enter. "Ladies first."

As the female bounty hunter began to climb down the manhole, Pikachu cried out a warning. Samus stopped and stared at the darkness. She could see nothing and only heard a low growl.

A huge tank charged from the shadows and almost hit the group. It screeched to halt and began to transform, rising into an immense figure that glowered at its prey. Galleom, even more fearsome and dangerous than they had remembered, had come back.

"Take Kirby with you. Go now." Marth set Kirby behind him. In unison, Ike and he drew their swords.

Captain Falcon regarded them with little emotion but did not move. Finally, he saluted them, picked Kirby up, and climbed down the hole. Pikachu leaped after him and gave the swordsman a last, almost regretful good-bye.

Ike glanced at Marth and raised his sword higher. "Whenever you're ready."

A small, fleeting smile flickered across the prince's face. "Of course."

* * *

The rusty pipe led them out to an unwelcoming wasteland around them. Mario was the first to clamber out, followed by Peach, Snake, and then a grumbling Bowser. The plumber wiped his spotless gloved hands on his overalls and looked around for any sign of life.

"Mama mia," Mario said. "What in the world is that?"

Peach, holding her parasol aloft, peered at the horizon and saw a huge, strange form towering over the small facility, a strange blue glow emanating from its chest. Snake looked through a pair of binoculars at the monster. "From my resources, that's a Galleom. An updated one too. Bigger, meaner, stronger." The agent tucked the binoculars back in his belt. "I suggest that we change routes. We wouldn't want to have that thing self-destruct on us."

"Whatever," Bowser said. "Let's go then…"

When they turned however, they saw a golden gleam speeding toward them. It was a space cruiser, the front shaped like a falcon's head.

Bowser stepped straight in the path of the mysterious vehicle. "Oh, I see what this is!"

"What are you doing?!" To Bowser's surprise, Mario tried to yank him away.

"Let go, plumber!" Bowser snapped. "I know what to do!" He shrugged off Mario's grip and focused on his speeding target. "You better move it or you'll be road kill! And as much as I hate to say it, I don't want to see you sprawled on the ground like a dead pigeon!"

Mario backed off. Bowser grunted as he braced himself for impact.

The cruiser was trying to pull up now. Bowser lunged forward and grabbed onto it, his claws scraping against the smooth, golden surface. He grunted with the effort of keeping his hold on the vehicle. Bowser punched it. "Open up!"

It responded by doing a barrel roll. Bowser hung on with sheer determination and managed to land another punch. "Anybody in there?!"

The cruiser flipped upside down and shook the Koopa King off. Bowser hit the ground hard and bounced once, twice, before coming to a stop. He could hear faint music emanating from the vehicle: _Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust, and another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust…_

"I… hate… that song!" Bowser growled. He got to his feet just in time to see the others run past him after the cruiser. He sighed and forced himself to run after the trio. Geez, why did heroes have all the luck?

* * *

The Poppant had gotten lost. The cowardly monster shivered in fear as it imagined what would happen if the Cloaked One found out that it abandoned its post. The Poppant looked around and timidly squeaked.

It had run away from a scary Primid who had been yelling at it for dropping food all over the place. And now it was hopelessly lost, lost in an equally scary place.

The only thing that comforted the Poppant was the shiny, rainbow ball it had found outside. It clutched it close to its chest now as it nervously looked around. The soft glow and warmth of the ball would've made it relax, but not this time. If the Cloaked One found out that he was lost, he would punish the Poppant, maybe even kill it.

The thought made the Poppant shiver. It _had_ to find some way to get back to his post!

It looked down at the rainbow ball and shook it, as if it had the answer. For a split second, it thought the ball had intensely vibrated. The Poppant cautiously put its ear against the ball.

"What do we have here?"

The Poppant squealed in terror and began to run as fast as it could. It didn't get far as a small fireball knocked it off its feet. It looked behind it and struggled to its feet. Oh no! It was the Cloaked One!

The Poppant burst into nonsensical babble, squeezing the rainbow ball so tight that it thought it heard a crack. The Cloaked One merely raised an eyebrow and said, "What did you say-ah? I can't hear you!"

"N-no hurt!" the Poppant pleaded. "No hurt me!"

"You abandoned your post…" the Cloaked One's eyes suddenly fell on the rainbow ball. "What is that?"

The Poppant's eyes widened. "G-good Master wants? Master takes!" It held out the ball to the Cloaked One and hastily backed off.

The Cloaked One looked it over and snapped, "Where did you find-ah this?" The Poppant cowered, but remained silent from fear. "Answer me!"

"Me found outside! O-outside big lab!"

The Cloaked One relaxed. "I see. I'll take this." He fingered the shiny ball before adding, "Return to your post right away. Understood?"

The Poppant blinked back tears of relief. "Y-yes. Good Master give order. G-good Poppant follow."

When the Cloaked One left, the Poppant slid against the wall in relief. It still felt a warmness where it had held the ball and, for a second, felt the urge to run after the Cloaked One and get the rainbow ball back.

No. It had to find a way back. The Poppant looked around it one last time before fleeing down a dark hallway…

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the loooong delay D: Real life took over for quite a while. I promise the chapters will come out weekly now.  
**


	19. A Brief Note

All right, let me explain. This is about the next couple of chapters, if I ever do get to them, of this story.

First off, I want to thank you all for taking your time to read this and everything. You might be asking now, "What the heck? This isn't the 18th chapter!" Yes. It isn't. Now here's the problem:

I'm in high school right now, where every single thing counts. I'm rather busy and my muse has been… well… dead lately. This **does not mean **I will discontinue this story. I know, the long waiting periods are unbearable, but I can't make any promises right now. I will try my best to continue on and I assure you that I have not lost interest in this story. I have almost finished the 18th chapter, and it should be up sometime this week. But, like I said, I can't make promises.

I appreciate your understanding.

-- Robopup24


	20. Chapter Eighteen

**.:Chapter Eighteen:.**

"There's our ride," Captain Falcon said as the golden vehicle silently landed. Pikachu hid behind Samus, staring at the Falcon Flyer with distrust. "I don't want to be around when that machine blows up--"

"Who wants to?" a rough voice said from behind.

They all turned around to see Snake, Mario, and Peach standing there, covered from head to toe with grime and dust. Bowser came up a few seconds later, huffing and puffing from his short sprint. "Whoever's driving your stupid car," the Koopa King snarled. "Needs to take lessons!"

"Poyo!" Kirby snapped at Bowser. Pikachu crouched low to the ground, sparks flying from his cheeks. Bowser glared down on them.

"Oh, so the little puffball and rat want to fight, huh? I'll give you a fight!" Bowser was about to blast fire on them when Mario pulled him back. He choked on his own flames and turned away, cursing and gagging.

"Not now, Pikachu," Samus said quietly. "We have bigger problems to worry about." Pikachu scowled but complied. He sat back up, though some stray electricity still crackled around him.

"Mind giving us hitchhikers a ride?" Snake asked. Falcon crossed his arms, silently debating.

"Get in," he said at last. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Galleom stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists before saying, "I remember you two." His voice came out in harsh, metallic tones. He laughed. "Oh, yes, I remember."

Ike glanced at Marth. "Well, I guess this is the part where he says the 'revenge shall be mine' and everything. You know, I'm actually surprised that they gave him a voice--"

"Concentrate," Marth said, staring intently at Galleom. "We have to hold him off."

"We can't chop him up?" Ike tensed when he saw Galleom rear up. "Move!"

The robot's fists slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves running through the earth. Marth and Ike leaped into the air. Ike landed on Galleom's shoulder and stabbed him in the fleshy part of his neck.

If it hurt the robot, he showed no signs of it. Galleom swung his fist at Marth, narrowly missed him, and hit the wall instead. Ike hung on, reaching for his sword when Galleom shook him off. The mercenary hit the ground hard but jumped back to his feet. Ike looked around him for anything he could possibly use as a weapon, but his search was cut short as Galleom launched his missiles. Ike swore.

He ducked and a missile aimed at him flew over his head. Ike saw from the corner of his eye Marth, who was weaving in and out of the barrage, fierce concentration on his face. Galleom wildly swung his fist again, but Marth nimbly dodged it and jumped up, sword raised.

Galleom made an odd noise, part growl, part scream and attempted to stomp on Marth. He missed as the prince was too agile for him. Ike saw a broken pipe, picked it up, and shouted, "Hey, you bucket of bolts!"

Galleom turned around to just in time to see the mercenary stab his makeshift weapon into his leg. It stuck there, hamming the mechanical joints, sending pain flaring through the robot's system. He screeched in anger.

Ike wasted no time and jumped onto the portion of the pipe sticking out onto Galleom's shoulder once more. The robot began to violently shake, sensing what he was trying to do. Ike held on and yanked out his sword, fire flaring around its blade. "Great… Aether!"

The attack hit home and Galleom stumbled back, his steps unsteady, showing that parts of him were beginning to shut down. Ike jumped off and landed next to Marth, a slight smirk on his face. "Now that was easy."

"I'm not sure of that," Marth said quietly.

"What do you mean--?"

Galleom suddenly jerked back up, his eyes glowing red. "Is that all you've got?" His arms began to unfold, revealing them to be built-in rail guns. Marth and Ike dove behind a piece of large debris, just as Galleom began firing. Ike saw a railing snap in two from Galleom's wild attack. The building gave a low groan, and he noticed that the ceiling was beginning to sag from the stress. He saw Marth shake his head. If Galleom kept this up, they were going to be buried alive. But running out into the open against thousands of bullets was sheer insanity.

"Damn," Ike swore for the second time.

As soon as the word left his lips, the shooting stopped. Marth dared to peer over their makeshift shield. Ike was about to look over himself when Marth sat back down and motioned for him to do so as well.

"Did he run out of bullets?" Ike asked.

Marth's answer was grim. "No. He's reloading his guns."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"I got it!"

Popo looked up at the sound of Pit's excited voice. The angel stabbed his bow into one of the many crates lying around and said, "Do you guys mind freezing the door?"

"For what?" Nana didn't stir from her corner. Pit didn't answer.

The wooden box broke open and Pit stepped back in satisfaction. A metallic ball laid there, its silver surface glowing in the dim light. "Perfect. All right, I should be able to turn this thing on."

"What is it?" Popo ventured to ask.

"Don't know, don't really care. All I know is that it's a machine can slice and dice. That's just what we need right now." Pit looked at the twins. "We need to break out of here, so… here's our exit plan. Right here."

Nana looked at him dully. "Why would Lucario leave something like that here?"

The angel shrugged. "I don't know. It malfunctioned, something was wrong with it, or maybe he just got a little bit careless. C'mon," Pit said. "If anything happens, if it just suddenly attacks us, I'll be here to protect you two, all right? Nobody's getting hurt."

"Including Lucario?" Nana asked. Pit sighed.

"Can't promise that. Look, I won't burn him alive even though he deserves it, all right?"

"Good enough for me," Popo said. "What's this plan of yours?"

Nana stood up. "I'm not doing it until you promise, Pit." the pink Ice Climber began slowly. Pit threw his hands into the air.

"What is with you and promises? Look," Pit walked up to her and kneeled to her eye level. "If he attacks Popo or me, or you, what am I supposed to do, huh? Talk to him? He's beyond reasoning! He won't listen to us at all, Nana."

"I-I could try…"

"Nana," Popo said quietly. "Pit's right."

Nana turned around and buried her head in her hands. Popo sighed and whispered to Pit, "She's acted like this before. Just give her some time, she'll get over it."

"This has happened before?"

"Just tell us the plan."

Pit glanced at Nana. "Sure. You freeze the door and I'll turn on the machine. You have three seconds to get out of the way. If I tell you to duck, run, or dive for cover, don't hesitate, all right? I'll pry open the exit, take you guys with me, and if everything goes well, we'll be out of here before Lucario knows what hit him."

Popo nodded. "And what if the machine comes at us?"

Pit opened a panel on the sphere. "Let's hope it doesn't."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Yoshi!"

Yoshi looked up at the flying car, squinting against the bright sun. He couldn't see Roy anymore, not when they were so high up. He gave a burble of frustration and summoned all his strength to give the biggest jump he could, but still couldn't reach the car. He kept his eye on the car, hoping that Roy would somehow gain control of it and knock that fat Wario off.

Then it happened. Yoshi saw a puff of smoke and heard a faint bang coming from the flying vehicle. Did something wrong happen? Was the car going to crash?

He suddenly sensed someone behind him and looked back to see a Charizard gliding behind him, its powerful body slick with sweat. That Pokemon Trainer was riding on it, arms wrapped tightly across its neck, murmuring soft words of encouragement to the Charizard.

"Hup hup, Yoshi!" Yoshi called, nodding up at the car. The Pokemon Trainer looked at him in surprise, and then returned his gaze to the car above. He cursed.

Then suddenly, with no apparent reason, the car began to wildly spiral downwards…

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Wario was having a very, very bad day.

He punched the swordsman squarely in the nose and gave him a good kick in the stomach. The swordsman had almost fallen off, but kept his grip on the wheel. Wario was about to shove him away when that random Smasher appeared in a puff of smoke. What was her name again? Ah yes, Sheik or Zelda or something like that.

She had somehow managed to teleport onto his car and catch Ness and him off guard. While he gaped at her, frozen in brief shock, the swordsman managed to swing himself back up and throw Wario overboard.

"Mama mia!" he had exclaimed. Luckily, due to his quick reflexes, he managed to hold onto one of the protruding handles of the car. But his weight seemed to be too much for the vehicle to handle and slowly began to tilt before finally spinning toward the ground. He saw the swordsman yank on the wheel but it was no use: Wario was too heavy. Ness wildly flailed his arms, trying to regain balance. There were several flashes of bright light, and Link and Lucas stood up again, unharmed. The imp had revived them from their trophy states.

At this point, the car crashed.

Wario let go at the last second and safely rolled down a small hill through rather dense foliage. When he managed to get up again, he saw a thick column of smoke rising into the air. He grunted. Nobody could've emerged from the wreckage unscathed. Well, that was another job screwed up. At least he had half the money Ganondorf had promised him; it was enough to last him for a while.

As he got up, he found himself face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. The holder of the gun happened to be a Balloon like Pokemon.

"Jiggly, puff jiggly puff puff?" Jigglypuff asked dryly. Wario responded by kicking the Pokemon in the stomach and ran off; feeling his pockets to make sure that his money was still there.

He abruptly froze in mid-step, finding that he was unable to move a single muscle. Jigglypuff ran up to him, clutching his stomach, waving his gun menacingly.

"Well," a smooth voice said. "Look who we caught." Mewtwo emerged from the trees, as well with a few other Smashers. Wario growled at him, being unable to say a word. "Toon Link, get the ropes. We're going to have a little talk with our guest."

* * *

**A/N: Robo. Is. Back.**


	21. Chapter Nineteen

**A/N: **First off, I'd like to say thank you to all the wonderful reviews. You have no idea how much it means to me to log back on after a long absence and see all the supportive comments. Thank you for sticking with me through this wild ride! ^ ^

* * *

**.::Chapter Nineteen::.**

"I'm telling you," Wario growled. "If there's money in a job, I take it. I don't give a damn what it is, as long as the pay is good. You think I know what the heck Tabuu's up to? I was just doing my job."

Toon Link immediately whacked him on the head with his sword. "Oh come on, you gotta remember _something_!" he said in exasperation. "Think, will you?"

"Hitting me on the head isn't gonna help!" Wario snapped back. "You think I'm gonna tell you anything after you broke my car? That thing cost me hundreds of dollars!" He turned away, or at least, he tried to with his bindings. Toon Link sighed and sulkily cast a look at Mewtwo.

"He's not going to talk."

"You think?" Red said. He was leaning against a tree, carefully bandaging his wounds. "Say you were ambushed by some random person, then thrown out of your car, and then--"

"I get the picture," Toon Link snapped. "You don't need to act like that." He kicked a rock at the Pokemon Trainer and stormed away. Mewtwo looked at the two before slowly floating after him.

"We can offer you something more than money," Roy said quietly.

"Oh, really?" Wario rolled his eyes.

"You know," the mercenary continued on. "That you have to be _alive_ to get money." Wario froze.

"You're bluffing!" Wario held his head up in disdain, though he was shaking from head to toe. He suddenly blurted out, "I mean, you need me!"

"Sure we do," Dedede said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "We'll just get the information from your fellow coworkers. You know somethin'?" He casually set a gloved hand on Wario's head. "I don't think there's money in the afterlife."

Sweat popped out on Wario's face. "I'll take you to his base!" he finally burst out. "But I better get something good outta it--"

"Hey," Dedede tightened his grip. Wario froze. "Just be glad you're keeping your head." He let go. Wario relaxed. "How far?"

"Not far, it's really close by," Wario muttered. "Really, really short walk. I mean, sprint. Hey, you have freaky psychics in your group, don't you?! Why don't you ask them to teleport you or make you fly or something?"

Dedede turned to Red. "That's actually a nice idea--" He stopped in mid-sentence when he realized that there was nobody there. "Where the heck is everyone disappearing to?"

Olimar just gave a resigned shrug and stood up. "I'll go find them." He paused. "Our ride should be here soon."

"Ride? What ride?"

A shadow fell over the group. Dedede looked up to see a giant, masked ship bursting out of the clouds. The penguin took a few steps back in surprise. Olimar cleared his throat.

"That ride."

* * *

Falcon slammed on the brakes and the ship skidded to a stop in the air. He turned around, a skeptical look on his face, and said, "You're kidding me, right?"

Bowser mumbled angrily. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Samus shook her head. "You want us to go straight into the enemy's arms, Bowser."

Peach fidgeted in her seat. Mario looked at the Koopa King sitting beside him. Snake simply said 'Hmph.'

"Well, it works for both of us," Bowser growled. "I'll bring my army, Mario brings his... Toad and Yoshi friends, whatever they're good for, we'll make a distraction, and you guys can sneak in and save the world like you always do."

"So," Falcon said. "We're just going to waltz into Tabuu's base. Is that the plan?"

Bowser gave a hoarse chuckle. "Exactly. We both win."

"Hold on a second here," Samus said. "From what I can tell, this place is going to be pretty well-guarded. It'll be a miracle if we can get past twenty miles within it."

"Pika!" Pikachu heartily voiced his agreement. Kirby hesitantly echoed him.

"I know, I know," Bowser said. "But it'll work. I know it'll work. You'll have to trust me on this. I know the way inside and out of the base like the back of my hand. I was Tabuu's inside man, if you've forgotten."

"Like we can forget," Snake muttered.

Falcon was staring straight ahead, showing no emotion whatsoever on the subject. Bowser leaned forward. "Trust me on this."

"It's not a matter of trust," Samus said. "What you're suggesting is going to get us all killed."

"I know how Tabuu thinks," Bowser said. "He knows you're going to try to find the other Smashers. He _wants_ you to find the other Smashers. But it's all to get us into one big group so he can wipe us out all at once. He's gotten some new tricks up his sleeve, and he's knows the chinks in our armor now."

Snake lit a cigarette, deeply inhaled, deeply exhaled. "Since when did you become the eloquent speaker?" he asked.

"I'm telling the truth!" Bowser roared. "Tabuu knows the best way to get to us: through our friends!"

Silence settled over them. Then Mario said, "I know what you mean."

Falcon looked at the plumber curiously. Mario shrugged resignedly. "I think-a surprise attack would work, if we played our cards right." He nodded to himself wearily.

"I disagree," Samus said a bit too pleasantly. "The best thing would be to gather the Smashers--"

"You HAVEN'T been LISTENING to what I've been saying!" Bowser shouted.

"We heard you well enough the first time!" Falcon shouted back. "Now listen: I like this idea of a surprise attack. This plan might work, like Mario said. A few of us can sneak in and sabotage the place from the inside. Bowser will help us, since he seems to know his way around the place. Mario and Peach make the distractions..."

"... Gladly," Peach chirped.

"... While the rest of us go into the base." Falcon paused. "Oh, do you happen to know if there's any Pokemon nearby?"

At the mention of 'Pokemon,' Pikachu's ears pricked up. "Pika, Pikachu," he said.

"There might be," Samus translated.

"Well, then," Falcon said. He turned the ship onto autopilot and spun his chair around. "Why don't you be the diplomat, little guy?"

"Pikaa?"

"Gather all the Pokemon you can find." Falcon thought for a moment. "Mmm-hmm. We'll need a really big distraction. If you manage to bring your army, Mario, and you manage to bring yours, Bowser, we should be able to distract Tabuu long enough. If Pikachu manages to bring enough Pokemon... well, I guess we'll be set."

"Poyo!" Kirby waved his stubby arms. "Dragoon! Voosh!"

"Ah, right. The Dragoon. That'd be great too, Kirby."

Kirby nodded in satisfaction. Falcon looked around him. "Well? How's it sound so far?"

"Suicidal," Samus said tartly.

"Right. But we've been through tougher stuff," Falcon said. He programmed the next destination and grimly smiled. "Luck and fate have always been on our side. Let's hope it still is."

* * *

Ike looked at Marth, looked at the revenge-crazed robot, then back at Marth. "Well, some heroic death this is," the mercenary said.

"Don't assume it's the end before it's the end," Marth answered. He slunk lower to the ground as Galleom unleashed another barrage of bullets. Ike mirrored his movement.

"I don't see any way out of this," Ike said. "Do you?"

Marth's eyes darted around the room and he reluctantly shook his head no. Ike tightened his grip on his sword. "Well, let's make the best of it then--"

"Come out, little cowards!" Galleom bellowed. "I will kill you sooner or later, either way!" He gave a mechanical laugh that shook the ground.

Ike looked up. The ceiling was sagging even lower now. It wasn't long before it collapsed on all of them...

Wait! Ike looked back at the ceiling. Marth instantly knew what he was thinking and said slowly, "You're going to kill us all."

"That's what Galleom's going to do, anyway." Ike knelt down to the ground. "I'm going to need your help. Draw his attention away."

"And you?"

Ike nodded toward the beams. "I'll take care of the rest." Marth shifted uneasily.

Ike waited until the robot stopped firing. He signaled to Marth. All at once they jumped out, swords ready. Galleom, having run out of bullets, gave a low, angry growl and lunged at them with an inhuman roar.

Ike rolled to the left. A giant fist slammed down where he had been moments before. Clouds of dust and dirt filled the air. Pieces of metal flew. Ike pressed himself flat against the wall, stifling his cough. He felt around, trying to feel for the beam.

_Bang._ Galleom's fist slammed by him again. Ike froze. The fist retracted.

"I can see you, little warrior," Galleom snarled. "There isn't anywhere for you to hide."

Ike knew that he was bluffing. Galleom couldn't see through the dust either. If he could, then Ike would've been dead by now. He slowly faced the first beam and slammed his sword into it. The rusty metal creaked as it buckled underneath the powerful blow.

"I know where you are!" The robot's heavy footsteps resounded through the small hallway.

_Clang!_ The sound of metal against metal made Ike instinctively turn his head. Galleom stomped away from Ike's position.

There were four main beams standing. If Ike could break one more, the entire ceiling would collapse on them. Hopefully, it would knock Galleom out. But he had to hurry. The dust was beginning to clear up. And once it did, he was a sitting duck.

A breeze gently blew past Ike. Wait... a breeze?! Ike looked back and saw Galleom's red eyes staring back at him.

"The game's up," Galleom grated. He shifted a little and a golden trophy rolled toward him. It was Marth. "You lose."

Ike responded by stabbing him in the eye.

Galleom drew back, clawing at his face. Ike ducked under him and ran for the opposite wall. "Like my father always said..." He pointed his sword at the last beam. Galleom stared at him, frozen. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." He swung as hard as he could.

The ceiling came down with a roar.

* * *

Roy looked around him, and then whistled. "Impressive," was all he said.

Meta Knight stared stoically up at him. "I suppose it is. We had to do some upgrading after it was shot down."

The Halberd was more than impressive. It was magnificent. Every square inch of it had been replaced with something stronger and more durable. Meta Knight looked around at his sixteen companions. Their numbers had grown significantly with the joining of the other Smashers and other persons. But it still wasn't enough. Even Meta Knight knew that.

"Sir?" A Waddle Dee wearing a sailor's hat toddled over to them. "We're ready to take off."

Meta Knight glanced at the Waddle Dee. "Good. Set us off. Southwest."

The Waddle Dee saluted. "Yes, sah," he said, and waddled away.

The ship spread its mighty wings and took off so fast that almost everyone was knocked flat. Wario shakily got to his feet, clinging to the railing. "Why do we have to fly a damned battleship to Tabuu's base?" he groaned. "We're gonna get blasted outta the sky anyway!"

"Better safe than sorry," Mewtwo said. Toon Link was clinging to the Legendary's arm, a childish look of anger on his face. Mewtwo looked down and his eyes seemed to glow for a minute. Toon Link jumped.

"_I'm_ not acting stubborn!" he shouted.

"Jiggly," Jigglypuff said, rolling her eyes.

"As if," R.O.B. translated cheerfully. Toon Link glared at the robot. R.O.B. looked down. "Apologies."

Midna watched this all impassively. The imp had her arms crossed and was floating lazily above the deck. Link cautiously approached her. She looked at him disdainfully, and then turned her head away. "Strange friends you have."

"They mean good," Link answered.

Midna snorted. "Sure they do. They always do. Especially the fat one." Her gaze shifted to Wario, who was whining to Dedede. She sneered.

"You're helping us. That counts for something."

"Right. Like I wanted to come back here willingly. You and Zelda are the only people I'd come back for."

The ship sailed on. Jigglypuff was shouting at Toon Link in the background. Link said, "It's good to have you back."

Midna dared to smile. "That's good to hear."

* * *

"Everything is going smoothly?"

Lucario didn't bother to look at the hologram image of Ganondorf when he answered. "Yes."

Ganondorf grinned. "Good. Tabuu will be pleased."

The Pokemon didn't answer. He leaned against the wall, eyes closed, using his psychic powers to steer the ship. "What will you do with them once I bring them into your care?" he asked.

"Do you still have feelings for them?" Ganondorf sneered. "It shouldn't matter to you. Tabuu will see to them... use them to power the Gate. And you'll get your reward."

Lucario opened his eyes and glanced at the hologram. "You are hiding something."

"You ask too many questions," came the calm reply. Lucario sensed the veiled threat and said nothing more. "Be ready when you land," Ganondorf continued, a trace of arrogant smugness in his voice. "The Gate is about to open." The hologram flickered off.

Lucario stared straight ahead through the window. Night had fallen, and the sky was bleakly dark without any stars. It seemed like the world knew what was about to happen and was holding its breath, waiting for the bomb to drop. The Pokemon shook his head and was about to return his focus back to driving the ship when he heard a soft _clang_.

Lucario's ears pricked up and he closed his eyes. He used his Aura, pushing the field of perception larger. He tensed, and jumped out of the way. A whirling metal sphere with spikes suddenly burst out of the wall behind him. Lucario twisted around and shot a powerful blast at it. The machine shattered instantly.

Lucario landed on his feet, turned around, and hit a surprised Pit in the face who had been sneaking up on him. "You had a good plan," Lucario said. "But you'll have to do better than that." He backflipped and shot multiple spheres of energy at the angel.

Somehow Pit managed to get out his shield. Lucario's spheres bounced off harmlessly.

Lucario looked out the window, then looked at his enemy. "You have chosen the wrong time to break out," he said. Before Pit could comprehend those words, Lucario shot a blast at the dashboard and then at the window. Wind came rushing in. Sirens began to wail. Lucario looked at him impassively before leaping out of the window.

He could hear the Ice Climber's startled cries as he fell. He could hear the dying motor of the ship as it struggled to stay afloat. He could see Pit preparing to fly, not knowing that the Primids were silently rising up from the crystalline base beneath them. Lucario kept a good distance away, floating, watching the scene unfold as the Primids attacked them, watching the Smashers fall. He closed his eyes once more, letting a sigh escape his lips.

Everything was going according to plan.


	22. Chapter Twenty

**.::Chapter Twenty::.**

_Everything was in place._

_He watched from his palace in Subspace as his minions hastily got ready for his coming. "So close," he whispered. "So close." He leaned forward, reached out to the world he could see through the rip. He was jolted back by some invisible force. He curled his lip in a sneer. But it didn't matter. He would be free from his prison, and he would take his revenge out on the World. He could already feel the energy flowing through him, through the gap, widening the rip between Subspace and the World._

_"Tabuu."_

_His name was spoken softly, weakly. He looked down to find that, much to his disgust, one of his many puppets talking to him. He yanked on the string, and the boy hanging on the other end stifled a scream of pain._

_"Your purpose is drawing to an end, Ness. Save your breath. There is nothing that you say that save you from your fate." Tabuu turned around, paused, then turned back. "Your friends. You want to save them, don't you? Especially that blonde one. Interesting." He rolled in two other strings, smiling cruelly to himself.  
_

_The boy drew a sharp ragged breath when he saw who the other two puppets were. "Let them go."_

_"That sounds like a command. Is it?"_

_"... Please." It was a faltering whisper, a pleading cry. Tabuu let them sink back into the darkness._

_"The fun is just beginning. You are all bound to die, anyway. What is the point of prolonging their suffering?" Tabuu faced the rip again. "Your time is up. The Golden Age is coming. This faulty world of yours will be renewed into the Utopia it once was, before you... monstrosities came. And I will leave this wasteland to regain my rightful place in the World..."_

_A shudder ran through the crystal Subspace walls of the palace. The rip widened, light beginning to spill in._

_"Soon," Tabuu whispered. "Soon..."_

_

* * *

_The castle was strange and crystalline, twisting up toward the sky in awkward and mind-bending poses. It absorbed light and gave it off its own twisted version of it in shades of purple and blue. It rested in a large valley, its frame snaking in and out of the hills like roots. Areas where those roots touched were withered to a dead brown. Nothing lived where the roots laid. And there was no doubt that this castle was not of this world.

The gate sitting on top of this beautiful and demented castle stuck out like a sore thumb. It seemed clumsily built out of stone and mortar; it was sloppily erected in the shape of a half-crescent moon and it looked as though it might fall down any minute. Compared to the sinister resplendence of the tower, it seemed like someone had just dumped a bag of boulders on the top, hastily arranged it, and then left.

Wolf saw all this and more as he stood at the the uppermost tower. He looked around him, seeing the dead sky, the dead surroundings, unsmiling.

"Progress is good," a monotone voice behind him said. Wolf turned around to see the possessed Sonic hunched over a crystal cube. "We have captured two more Smashers. That brings the total to ten. More than enough to power the Gate. The Halberd is above us, but that shall be taken care of fairly quickly."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Wolf said sarcastically.

"Your payment shall come soon."

"Right. I'll be busting out of here then before you blow this dump up."

Sonic turned around. "And where will you be going?"

"Around," Wolf said dismissively. "It doesn't really matter."

"You are a good subject, Wolf O'Donnell. I could make you a general of my army."

Wolf snorted. "Over what? There'll be nothing left for me to pick at, Tabuu."

"The Universe shall be next," Sonic replied.

Wolf cocked an eyebrow. "Good luck with that..." He stiffened. "What the hell is that?"

A huge dust cloud was emerging over the horizon. Wolf took out his pocket binoculars and peered through them. "Damn," he said at last.

Sonic jumped to his feet. "It looks like the Smashers are coming to us. Lead out the fighters, Wolf. We'll give them the welcome they deserve."

* * *

The valley was quiet.

And they came, softly at first, and then louder and louder until their footsteps were a deafening roar. They spilled into the valley like a river: Pokemon, Koopas, Yoshies, and so many other creatures that it boggled the mind. Their war cry rang through the air like a discordant melody as they charged toward the gates. There was a flash of blue and red, and a single Yoshi charged out of the ranks, leading the way. Falcon was riding on this Yoshi, and he waved his blaster to spur the troops on, shouting, "Go! Go!"

But their heroic charge was stopped short as a giant wall of fire sprang up in front of them. The army fell back in surprise. Falcon reigned in his frightened steed and frowned.

_Rata-tat-a-tat-a-tat... rata-tat-a-tat-a-tat... _Drums were steadily beating from the castle, and soft, purple spheres dropped from the sky. They piled up on the ground and rose up as monsters, twitching like broken toys. Before long, an army of Primids were formed, armed and ready to kill.

"ATTACK!" Falcon shouted.

The army didn't need to be told twice. The troops dived at their nearest enemy, teeth and claws and weapons bared. Bodies fell right and left, and Falcon was among all this chaos, kicking, punching, and blasting any Primids that dared to come near him.

Falcon turned around to blast off another Primid's head. As he was about to turn his steed around, he was suddenly kicked off. Falcon managed to land on his feet. He looked up to find his attacker when another well-placed kick hit him in the ribs. The bounty hunter was sent flying.

"Hello, Falcon," a mocking voice said. Falcon slowly got up to his feet to see Sonic standing in front of him. "How valiant of you to lead an army here to stop me. But you're too late." Sonic was suddenly by Falcon's side with a flurry of punches. Falcon braced himself against the blows, backing up. He bumped against Sonic and found himself thrown onto the ground. Sonic stood over him, smirking. "You're just too slow."

"We'll see about that," Falcon said.

_

* * *

_

"Mothership, this is Runner One. I'm over the enemy base."

Fox leaned on the dashboard, pressing a hand against his headset. "Copy that, Runner One. Don't go too low. We don't want you blasted out of the sky."

"Roger."

Meta Knight was standing by the bipedal mammal's side, and shot his companion a dark look. "Sending Falco down there is a bad idea."

"You think?" Fox adjusted some knobs and dials. "The idiot wouldn't give up until he had it his way." Fox sighed. "He'll be all right. We've done reconnaissance tons of times."

"I'm not worried about him," Meta Knight said bluntly. "I'm worried about Falco giving away our location. The element of surprise is the only advantage we have right now."

Fox looked down at Meta Knight. "It sounds like you don't trust him."

Meta Knight pulled his cloak closer to him. "It's a bad idea," he repeated.

"Mothership, this is Runner Two." R.O.B.'s robotic voice crackled cheerily over the radio. "I'm in position."

"Mothership, this is Runner Three... I'm in position as well." Olimar sounded glum as he echoed R.O.B.'s answer.

Fox leaned against the dashboard. "Good. All Runners should remain in their current formation. Don't get too close. Do a quick sweep of the area and report back immediately. Is that clear?"

"Roger."

"Affirmative."

"Okay."

Meta Knight stared at the hologram map projected from the dashboard. "No enemy fighters in sight. Nothing but a few birds." He narrowed his eyes. "This is too easy."

"How?"

"We come here, undetected. If this was Tabuu's base, wouldn't it be heavily guarded?"

Fox's tail twitched. "Maybe they weren't expecting an aerial attack." Unlikely, considering that Tabuu had managed to thwart their plans so far. He stared at the floating blue hologram, watching the green arrows move slowly across the landscape. Meta Knight was right. This _was_ too easy.

"Mothership? This is Oli-- I mean, Runner Three."

Fox pressed a button to project another hologram of Olimar's cockpit, from the Hocotanian's perspective. "Copy that. What is it?"

"I thought I saw something fly by. Something big."

"Runner Two confirms this," R.O.B. chimed in.

Fox tapped his headset. "Runner One, come in. Runners Two and Three reported a large unidentified flying object cruising past them. Do you see it?"

White noise answered him. Fox tapped his headset. "Runner One, respond."

"You should have restrained him," Meta Knight said simply.

"Hey, do a favor for me: shut up," Fox snapped back. "Falco, do you read me? Respond!"

The ship suddenly jerked forward. Fox gave a shout of surprise and almost fell face-first into the dashboard. Meta Knight was shouting orders at his crew, gesturing with his sword. "We have company," he said grimly.

"Who?"

A big red dot appeared on the hologram, circling their position. Fox looked up, just in time to see a indigo blur streak past them. The Halberd rocked wildly back and forth.

Meta Knight clung to a nearby railing to prevent himself from falling over. "All cannons, prepare to fire!" he ordered. The Waddle Dees and knights above deck scurried to obey their captain's command.

"What the heck is going on?!" Red burst into the room, struggling to keep his footing. The Pokemon Trainer stumbled in, struggling to keep his balance.

"We're being attacked," Fox said. "We don't know who yet, but..."

"Fox! Meta Knight!" Olimar's panicked voice came in. "There's a dragon out here!"

"Ridley," R.O.B. added gravely. "My sensors pick up several enemy fighters coming our way."

Fox slammed his fist down. "Wolf," he spat. He began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Meta Knight demanded.

"The hanger bay. I'll take care of the fighters. You worry about Ridley," Fox said. "I'll worry about myself."

"Hey, you aren't going out there alone!" Red exclaimed. "I'm coming along; I can ride on Charizard."

"Then I shall come along too," a smooth voice said. Mewtwo drifted down from the ceiling and landed beside them. "The rest of us can stay here."

"No! You can't go without me!" Toon Link dropped down from a balcony, swinging his sword around.

A chilling screech and several rounds of cannon fire were heard. The Halberd shuddered again under another blow.

Meta Knight, thoroughly annoyed by the amount of people jumping out of nowhere, said sternly, "No more than three. We can't afford to lose any Smashers. And don't argue with my judgment," he added when Toon Link was about to complain. "Ridley and the fighters will tear this ship apart the longer we talk about this. The Halberd is not invincible. Now go."

The newly assembled company began to leave. Mewtwo glanced back at Toon Link and said, "Don't get yourself into trouble."

"Like that'll ever happen," Toon Link grumbled. Mewtwo smiled and floated away.

"Captain!" a Waddle Dee called. "We lost several cannons on the port side!"

"Use the gas," Meta Knight replied. He looked at the hologram map. There were several red arrows appearing now. They were desperately outnumbered. But then again, that never bothered them.

Hopefully.

There was a resounding hiss, and the world outside the window was covered in a dense, thick white smoke.

"I can't see anything," Toon Link said quietly.

"Let's hope that they can't see as well," Meta Knight replied.

* * *

R.O.B. easily navigated through the smoke-filled atmosphere. Smoke did not affect his visual sensors; that was one of the perks of being robotic. He quickly opened up a readout. Strange, Falco's Arwing was stationary, in direct range of the enemy fighters. "Runner Three, this is Runner Two," R.O.B. said. "Check on Runner One, will you? He's not moving."

No answer.

R.O.B. blinked. "Runner Two? Olimar?"

Again, no answer. Not even the hiss of static. R.O.B. checked his readouts again. Olimar's ship was stationary as well. Very strange.

"Radio communications are down," R.O.B. noted to himself. "I'll have to check on them myself."

As he turned his ship, though, it heaved violently. A million warnings and errors flooded into R.O.B.'s processors. He had been hit.

And he was going down.

Could he get the ship to fly again? Not likely. He would have to eject, straight into enemy fire. R.O.B. braced himself as the ship began to rattle. He was losing parts. In a few seconds, his ship was going to become scrap metal.

R.O.B. looked up and fired his laser. The glass melted away like butter. Mentally steeling himself, R.O.B. jumped out.

The sharp change of atmosphere made the robot's sensors to wildly fluctuate for a brief second. Everything soon steadied out, though, and R.O.B. regained his regular readings. He fired up his Robo Burner and evened out his flight level. His burning ship disappeared from sight.

R.O.B. looked around him. That was strange. There was no sign of Olimar and Falco's ship, though his readouts told him that they shouldn't be too far away. Was something messing with his signals?

It was best to head back to the Halberd. R.O.B. began to fly toward the general direction of the battleship.

He never got there.

A long, whip-like tail slammed him back. R.O.B.'s world spun wildly as he struggled to regain focus. What had hit him? What was happening? He tried to turn his Robo Burner back on, but his sensors were frazzled. They refused to answer. He tried again. It had to turn on! It had to turn on! It had to--!

R.O.B. plummeted down to the earth like a stone.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! ^ ^ Just a short chapter this time. Don't worry, the next chapter will be when things really start to heat up! (And will be mega-long, good Lord xD)


	23. An Important Announcement

So it's been a while, guys. This story is an impressive five years old and, rereading it, I'm honestly impressed that I got it this far. It's near the end. It'd be a shame not to let it draw to a close.

For any readers who've stuck around: I'm rebooting Tabuu's Revenge. I'll be rewriting the chapters, tweaking the plot, trimming off the extra fat to make a better fanfic. And this time, I'll definitely finish. How long that'll take me—who knows. Quality-wise—I honestly won't care too much about it. I started this fanfic for fun and I'll finish it in the name of fun. I still have my old notes, so this shouldn't be too tough to handle.

I'll be writing tie-in fics related to this ficverse. I have, at the moment, three planned. I'll do my best to release them weekly. Please expect the first tie-in fic **May 19****th****.** It'll be an origin myth of sorts.

For the reboot, I will create a new story for the sake of drawing new readers in. I will keep this one up for archival purposes and for my own reference.

Let's dust off this wild ride!


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